


The Wrong One

by Johanna_002



Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: Blind Date, F/F, Family, First Dates, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 17:36:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18057044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johanna_002/pseuds/Johanna_002
Summary: For VeraRose19 on FF. Happy Birthday, Hot Mama! An AU look into Red’s world when her forty-year marriage crumbles and her darling daughter, Nicky, takes it upon herself to set her up on a blind date.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: If you are following my story, Ignorance Is Bliss, please bear with me. I will update soon. I promise.

"Ma, what are you doing? Nicky asked as she walked into the kitchen. She tossed her black purse onto the counter and walked around the island to stand at her mother's side, where she was stirring spaghetti sauce at the stove.

"Cooking," Galina answered her as she lowered the fire and set down the wooden spoon, she was using to stir the sauce. "What does it look like?"

"I can see that," Nicky picked up the spoon and dipped it into the sauce before bringing it to her lips for a taste. "I meant why. You have a date tonight, shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"I'm not going," Galina said tensely as she opened a cabinet door and pulled down four bowls. "I invited Vasily and Lida over for dinner, they're dropping the kids off at Lida's mom's tonight. I really wish they would have brought them. You know I love it when those babies come over."

"I know you do, Ma," Nicky said gently. "But… why did you invite them over when you knew that you had to meet Sam at the Harbor for dinner in like…" she turned her wrist to look at her watch, "an hour."

"Call and reschedule, Nicky, or better yet, just cancel it forever. I'm not ready to start dating again."

"It's one dinner," Nicky argued. "No one is forcing you to get married. You're a great woman, and you deserve to be happy. You didn't deserve Dmitri leaving you for that whore in Sheepshead Bay."

"No matter what your feelings are toward him, Nicky, he's still your father."

"Not by choice."

Galina rolled her eyes and walked back over to the stove to start dishing the spaghetti into bowls. "Can you call your brother and find out where he and Lida are?"

Nicky sighed and leaned heavily across the granite counter top. "If we're having a family dinner, how come the other bozos aren't coming?"

"Who?" Galina asked in confusion as she looked over her shoulder. "Yuri and Maxsim?"

"Those would be the ones," Nicky nodded.

"Well, Maxsim is across town with your father, and Yuri and Anna are out of town remember, at that couples retreat?"

"Why are they at a couples retreat?"

"Trying to save their marriage," Galina explained.

"Why?" Nicky gasped. "We all know she's screwing that guy in her office. The one who has six fingers."

"Nicky, please," Galina sighed. "Your brother loves her. It's good that someone in this family cares enough to try and make their marriage work instead of just throwing it away."

"This is why you need to go out tonight," Nicky practically sang.

Galina shook her head no. The idea of dating, especially at this stage in her life, when she had just gotten out of a forty-year marriage, was as overwhelming as it was frightening.

"I know I'm getting on your nerves with this, Ma. I've been bugging you for weeks to go on this date, but it's only because I want you to be happy and I think you'd have a lot of fun," Nicky explained.

"I appreciate that, but if you're so concerned with someone's love life, why don't you focus on your own?"

"Hey, nothing is wrong with my love life," Nicky said confidently as a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Lorna and I are getting pretty serious. I think we're going to go out of town next weekend."

Galina smiled at her. "I'm happy for you, sweetheart." She grabbed two bowls and gestured to the other two on the counter. "Grab those for me Nicky," she said as she turned on her heel to head into the dining room. The front door open and she instinctively knew it was Lida and Vasily. "In the dining room!" She called.

"I thought you had a date tonight?" Vasily asked as he and his wife made their way into the dining room.

"Jesus Christ, Nicky," Galina sighed as she took her seat at the head of the table. "Did you tell everyone about this?"

"No, not everyone," Nicky protested.

"She told Vasily and Vasily told everyone," Lida chuckled. "We're all really happy for you."

"Uh-huh," Galina mumbled unconvincingly.

"I wish I had known that you were coming over here sooner, Lida," Nicky said. "I would have told you to bring your cosmetology kit with you so that you could do Ma's hair and make-up for her date."

"I do have my cosmetology kit in the car," Lida replied.

"Oh," Galina scoffed. "You just had that huge thing in the car? No ulterior motives?" She twirled her spaghetti around on her fork. "I don't buy it. Now that I think about it, you were way too eager to accept my invitation to dinner. I should have known something was up. You've been planning this all day, haven't you?

"I had a bridal shoot today," Lida laughed. "I'd be happy to help you with your hair and make-up if you want. We still have a bit of time, right? I can do something simple and quick."

"That'll be great!" Nicky exclaimed. She pulled out her phone and quickly pulled out a picture before showing it to Lida. "Do you think you could do something like this for her?"

"Sure," Lida nodded as she scrutinized the picture. "I like that. It's classic and clean and you can never go wrong with a red lip. I love the way her eyeliner is more blended here," she said gesturing to the corner of her own eye. "It's not so harsh. I could smoke it out a little on the lower lash line too. I think that would look good."

"What about her hair?" Nicky asked as she took her phone back. "I don't know how long it'll take you to do, but if you curl it that should be good enough for now."

"If I am, I need to get started like right now," Lida said seriously. "Her hair isn't too long, so I could make good timing, but why don't you go ahead and see if we can push the date back another half hour just in case."

"I'll ask for an hour," Nicky said as she rose to her feet.

"I've never seen your hair curled," Vasily said through a mouth full of spaghetti. "I'm sure Lida will make you look good, Ma."

"And you never will," Reed replied curtly. "Because I'm not going anywhere." She picked mindlessly at her spaghetti and frowned. "Nothing is wrong with the way I'm wearing my hair now, right?" She asked her son self-consciously as she smoothed her hand back over the low ponytail she wore.

"Of course not, Ma, you look lovely," Nicky mumbled distractedly as she scrolled through her contacts. "Sam," she said as the voice on the other line answered. "Hey, my mother wanted me to call you and ask if she push dinner back to seven-thirty?"

"I did not!" Galina protested.

"Great," Nicky said after a brief pause. "Good. Yes, she's very excited. She'll meet you at seven-thirty. Bye-bye." After hanging up, she turned to her mother with a smile that would rival a Cheshire cats.

"I have half a mind to ground you," Galina growled.

"I don't live here anymore."

"I should disinherit you."

"You're broke," Vasily chuckled.

Galina sighed, and wiped a hand over her mouth in annoyance. How was she supposed to get through a dinner date, when she couldn't recall a time in her life she had ever been on a proper date? Dmitri had never taken her out. He'd just popped into her world one day like a rash she couldn't shake. She could feel both her son and daughter's eyes on her and bit her lip in frustration when she heard the front door open, and the wheels of Lida's cosmetology kit roll over her hard wood floors as she re-entered the dining room.

"Are you ready?" Lida asked, excitedly gripping to the handle bar of her kit.

Galina licked her lips, seeming to weigh up her options as her eyes darted from back and forth between Nicky's and her daughter-in-law. Even though every bone and nerve ending in her body, told her that this night was going to be a disaster, she found herself nodding in compliance.

Who knows, she thought to herself. Maybe I'll meet Mr. Right after all.

…

"Hello, my name is Piper, can I go ahead and get you started on drinks and appetizers this evening?

"I'm sorry?" Galina asked in confusion, her brows knitted together as she looked up at the blonde waitress that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"Can I get you a drink?" Piper asked. "Water, wine, soda?"

"No, I don't drink soda," Galina said with a stiff shake of her head. "I'll take a water, please."

"No problem, were you alone or are you still waiting for someone?" Piper gestured to the empty seat and menu across from her.

"Waiting for someone," Galina said quietly.

"Did you want me to bring a water for them as well?"

"That's fine," Galina murmured distractedly. She watched as Piper turned to walk away, and she refocused her attention on the front of the restaurant. A balding, thin man entered, meeting her eyes for only half a second before disappearing. Pursing her lips together in thought, she picked up her menu and tried to force herself to relax.

She'd told the hostess at the front she was meeting someone for a date and to send them to her table when they arrived, but she still couldn't shake the coiling feeling in her gut that some how she'd miss him, or that he'd change his mind about coming, and she didn't think there would be anything more embarrassing than being stood up and having to make the walk of shame out of the restaurant alone.

In a matter of moments, Piper returned, distracting her from her thoughts. "Here are those waters," she said as she placed a glass down in front of her. "Do you want to order an appetizer or wait a little longer?"

Galina shrugged unknowingly. "I guess I'll wait." She didn't eat out often, and she had no clue what Sam would like. It frustrated her that something so simple as ordering food seemed so hard. She felt completely out of her element. It had never been this hard when she was with Dmitri. She hadn't had to try with him-it was simple and easy, albeit very boring.

"Here she is ma'am."

Galina looked up from her menu, her eyes widening in surprise. The young hostess she'd checked in with when she arrived stood before her now with an older, Hispanic woman at her side.

"Wa-" Galina stuttered, her brows knitting together in confusion.

"Your server will be with you shortly," the hostess told the Hispanic woman. "Enjoy your meal."

Meeting the woman's eyes, Galina could tell she was just as confused, but unlike herself, she wasn't gawking at her. She was sure her face was as red as her hair, and her skin only grew hotter and clammier as her eyes traced up and down the woman's figure. She knew how she was coming across; she knew how rude her expression probably seemed, but she couldn't get herself to say anything. She was frozen in her seat.

Nicky had never mentioned anything about Sam being a woman, but now, in hindsight, it all seemed to make a twisted kind of sense. Her girl had been way too adamant about getting her out of the house, convincingly reassuring her that this would be a night she'd remember forever.

Was this what her darling girl had meant by that? Had she intentionally set out to embarrass her? Galina had half a mind to grab her purse, walk out, find Nicky and kick her to death.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Sam said softly, breaking the thick silence between them. "I'm just getting off of work and got lost getting here."

"Oh." The word was nothing more than a quiet mumble as Galina's eyes swept over the woman's figure.

Despite the amazing job Lida had done with her hair and make-up, and the nice blue dress Nicky had picked out for her to wear, she suddenly felt completely inadequate and underdressed compared to Sam, who donned a tight, pink dress that hugged her like a glove. Self-consciously touching her hair, Galina couldn't help but appreciate Sam's short, cropped hair which framed and livened up her features. Briefly, she wondered if she'd be able to pull off a style that short.

Sam took a seat across from her and reached for the glass of water. She took three, large, nervous gulps, licking her lips as she set the glass back down. Forcing herself to smile, she said, "You seem a little shocked. Are you okay?"

"Well," Galina reached for her own glass of water and took a drink. "I-ugh… I don't..."

"Yea, me, too," Sam chuckled nervously. "I thought my daughter was just kidding when she said I was meeting a woman tonight." She smoothed down her hair where it tapered off at the nape of her neck. "Not that you don't look great," she amended herself quickly.

"I don't know what to say," Galina wrung her hands together. "I'm not… I don't," she gestured between the two them, hoping that Sam would understand her meaning without forcing her to say it out loud.

"You don't date women."

"I'm sorry," Galina apologized. She continued to rub her hand together, the diamond of her wedding band cutting into the palm of her hand. She felt a pang in her chest as she dropped her eyes to the ring. She didn't know why she was still wearing it, but it seemed to be yet another omen that she wasn't ready for this, and that this night was a mistake.

Galina rubbed at her forehead in frustration. "I'm not making a good impression," she said quietly. "I don't mean to be rude or offend you. I'm not you know… against it. My daughter is gay, I'm okay with it. I just don't think… I- she didn't tell me you were a woman. I'm just… I'm going through a lot right now and you were the last thing I was expecting."

While offending her was the last thing Galina wanted to do, she could tell that she had. She cursed herself silently at the look of disbelief and hurt she could see in pooling in Sam's eyes.

"You weren't really what I was expecting either," Sam told her truthfully, a hard edge tilting her tone. She shook her head and reached for the glass of water. She gulped it down quickly and used her thumb and pointer finger to clean up the damp spots around the side of her mouth.

"But I understand," she said finally. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I was just told to be here at seven-thirty. I've never been on a blind date before. My daughter set this up. Had I known she wasn't joking, I wouldn't have come. Trust me, I'd much rather be at home in my pajamas, not here being squeezed to death by my spanks."

Unknowing of what else to say, Galina reached beneath her chair for her purse and rose up to her feet. "I'm sorry," she said awkwardly. "I really didn't mean…" she shook her head in defeat. There was really nothing that could be said to salvage this, and if she were being honest, she didn't really care all that much to put in the effort.

"Oh, great!" Piper exclaimed as she approached their table. She was completely unaware of the situation she had just happened upon. "You're here. Can I get you ladies started on an appetizer?"

"No," Galina said as quickly. "We're leaving." She wanted to get as far away from this entire situation as fast as she could.

"It'll just be me," Sam said. "Can I just get some rolls, and a glass of wine?"

Piper looked back and forth between them in confusion, but other than "I'll be back," she didn't say anything.

"You're staying?" Galina asked in surprise "By yourself?"

Sam nodded and opened up her menu, not bothering to meet her gaze. "I haven't eaten all day," she explained.

"Well, I don't want to leave you here by yourself," Galina whispered. She didn't know why she felt so much sympathy for the woman, but she did. It wasn't her fault their daughters were idiots. She couldn't in good conscience walkout, when only minutes before she'd been worried about being stood up herself.

"I'll stay," she said quietly. "if you want me to," she added. If Sam rejected her, at least she could say that she tried.

The hopeful look in Sam's eyes instantly over powered the agitation and hurt and Galina felt the tension in her back dissipate slightly. She didn't think anyone had ever looked at her like that before.

"Really?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"It's not your fault," Galina said gently. "I know you said you came all this way from work. I wouldn't feel right leaving you here alone. I know wouldn't like that," she admitted as she sat back down across from her. "Besides, it's just dinner, right?"

Sam smiled at her, relief coursing through her veins. "You really don't have to," she said, giving her one last chance to change her mind. "I appreciate it, but I understand that this has caught you off guard. I didn't mean anything by snapping at you. It's just been a really long day."

"How about we just start over?" Galina asked her as she picked up her menu.

"I'd like that," Sam smiled at her.

Piper returned with her wine and the rolls. "Are you staying after all?" She asked Galina.

"Yes, and umm… can I get a glass of wine too?" She asked.

"Maybe you should just bring the bottle," Sam joked. "I think we're going to need it."

...

Halfway through their meal and two glasses of wine, Galina didn't think she had ever laughed so much in her entire life. She'd really underestimated this woman and the time she'd have coming out tonight. Sam was a lot easier to talk to than she had expected, and after getting over the initial shock, they'd been able converse like old friends, which was nice, because Galina didn't have a lot of friends, or, really, any friends for that matter.

"So where is your dance studio at?" She asked curiously. Much like herself, Sam was a businesswoman and a mother of four. Her days revolved around her children and keeping her family afloat, which was something Galina greatly respected. "My daughter-in-law has been looking for ballet classes for my granddaughter. Do you teach those kinds of classes?"

"No, I don't," Sam frowned. "I can probably find you some numbers of affordable instructors though."

"What do teach? Jazz, hip-hop?"

"No, I teach Zumba and I also teach a belly dancing class, and then I bring in another woman to teacher yoga three days a week. You should come check it out sometime."

"I don't know," Galina chuckled with a shake of her head. "I don't think dancing is really my thing."

"There's nothing sexier than a woman who can dance. You should give it a go at least once."

Galina shook her head no and Sam chuckled. "I used to think I was out of my element when I first started taking the classes myself. My daughter, Selena, invited me to go with her one night and after my first class, I just never stopped going. I got my certificate to teach and then from there it just kind of grew into my own thing. Now I'm making money doing something I love, and I've never been happier."

"I love that," Galina said sincerely. "I used to clean houses and for a while I was even a cook for this one family. I used to plan their weekly meals and cater their charity events, and eventually from there I started getting hired by other families and I ended up earning a steady clientele. I still get booked to work their events and I was looking to expand and open another store, but since my divorce I just haven't really had the means or energy to do it."

"I think you should go for it," Sam said as she reclined back into her seat, crossing her left leg over her right.

"You think so?"

"Yea. I mean, seriously, why not? Anything is possible if you want it bad enough, right?"

"Are you a motivational speaker now, too?" Galina asked in amusement.

"Don't let me fool you," Sam chuckled. "I'm trying to convince myself that I'm not too old to take up pole dancing."

"Pole dancing?" Galina questioned. "Why would you want to do a thing like that?"

"Oh, so you think I'm too old?"

"No, I didn't say that," Galina shook her head.

Sam sighed dramatically. "My sons' aren't fans of the idea either. I told them I was thinking about hiring an instructor to teach the class, and bring in some extra income, and that they were okay with that."

"They thought they were going to get a free show or something," Galina joked.

"Probably," Sam rolled her eyes. "Because as soon as I said I was going to take the class and that I wanted to get certified to teach, they told me no."

"Well, I never said you were too old to take it, or that you wouldn't look great. I'm sure you would, but can you blame them? I would die if my children ever saw me even attempt to dance in that manner. Seeing me dance at all would probably freight them. I'm really not all that coordinated." Galina stuck her foot out and wiggled the low heel shoe she was wearing as an example. "Anything higher then this and I would probably break my neck."

"Everyone I talked to said that pole dancing was a good core workout. I used to make costumes for dancers, back when my girls were little, and they had some of tiniest waists I had ever seen."

"For stripers?" Galina questioned. You used to make costumes for strippers? I didn't even think those girls wore costumes. Isn't that the whole point of their profession?"

Sam smiled playfully as she brought her wineglass up to her lips. "Well, someone's got to sew all those jewels onto the underwear before they take them off," she said with a laugh, as she licked her lips. "Besides, It was easy money."

"How do you get into doing something like that?" Galina asked curiously. "Did you used to dance?"

While it was never something she would have considered doing, Galina was no stranger to the grave sacrifices that a lot of women had to make in order to provide for themselves and for their children. She, herself, had been a penniless immigrant with a new baby to feed, when she'd arrived in America, and she couldn't imagine how much harder her life would have been had she not had Dmitri and his family, as unhelpful as they often were, it was better than nothing. A lot of women that she knew who had come over hadn't been so lucky. Many of them had been bought by men; forced to marry and abused, and others had been forced into prostitution in order to repay their debts for being smuggled in.

"No, I never danced," Sam touched the pad of her index finger to the rim of her wine glass. "My best friend, Aleida, she used to dance, and I waitressed at the club she worked at. I had to lie about my age, and I lied to aunt about where I was really working, and when she found out the truth she lost it. She walked into the club and pulled me out by my air, threatened to call the cops… it was so bad."

"I don't blame her!" Galina exclaimed in laughter. "Sixteen? Come on now! I wouldn't be okay with my daughter working in a place like that either. Nicky, though, she has a mouth on her that would eventually mellow out even the most conservative soul, or at least put them in an early grave."

"My options were limited," Sam chuckled. "I had a new baby to take care of and I was basically a single mother. Even when Chris and I were together and getting along, he never really helped me financially, so I was on my own. I made great money in tips though, after about an hour, those guys didn't even know their own name, let alone the difference between a five and fifty."

Galina sighed as she pushed her plate away. "You know the more I think about it, the more I'm starting to realize just how little my ex-husband really did, and the more I realize, the more angry and bitter I get because I can't believe I put up with it all for as long as I did."

"How long were you married?"

"Almost forty years," Galina answered. "We just signed the divorce papers a few months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"He left me in a voicemail."

"He left you in a voicemail?" Sam questioned in confusion.

"A minute and fifteen second voicemail, telling me that he wasn't coming home and that he'd meet someone else. He'd gone and filed for divorce that morning and didn't want me to be blindsided when someone showed up serving me with the paperwork."

Sam's eyes bulged, nearly popping out of her head. "Because getting a phone call like that wouldn't have blindsided you?"

"Mm-hmm," Galina said as she downed the last of her wine. "Men…You know maybe I really would have better luck with a woman," she joked.

"Well, I have actually had a really great night with you," Sam told her honestly. "I didn't think it was going to go this well after the way things had started, but I know that wasn't your fault. I don't really like that our girls did this, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see you again. Maybe we could hang out sometime, just as friends?"

"Yea?" Galina asked her, a smile pulling across her lips. "Yes," she said a little more confidently. "I'd love that."

Downing the last of her own wine, Sam raised her glass when she saw Piper walk by their table.

"Another refill?" Piper asked.

"No," Sam shook her head. "I think I've had enough, unless you wanted another glass?" She gestured to Galina.

"I'm fine."

"We'll just take the check," Sam said.

"Make sure you split it," Galina reminded her.

"No, don't do that," Sam argued as she opened her purse. "I got." She handed her card to Piper.

"I don't want you to do that," Galina objected as she reached for her own purse.

"Seriously, I got it. Please take my card."

"Are you sure?" Galina asked her in disbelief. "I wasn't expecting you to pay."

"It's okay. Really. I really appreciate you staying and keeping me company. I don't get out too often and this was really nice. Thank you."

"Maybe I can take you out for coffee this weekend?" Galina suggested. "Weekdays are usually my busiest, just because I have so much prep work to do with food to get ready for the next morning when I open up my store."

"I'm out of work by one on Saturday," Sam told her. "Except that I'll have my granddaughter with me. I watch her while her mom runs the studio for the rest of the afternoon. How old is your granddaughter? Maybe you could bring her, and we can go to the park or something and let them run around."

"Well Vera just turned four on valentine's day and her brother, Koyla, is six. I'm sure they'd love to come, and I know Lida would be so thankful. They've been driving her up the wall for the last few weeks."

"I understand that," Sam chuckled. "How many grandkids do you have? I just have Annabella and she'll be three on March 8."

"I actually have four," Galina smiled. "Yuri, my oldest, has twins who are ten and Vasily and his wife, Lida, have Koyla and Vera."

Sam had just pulled her phone out of her purse when it had started to ring. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "This is my daughter, she always calls me before Bella goes to sleep so that I can say goodnight If she comes back with my card, sign for me and leave her a ten-dollar tip."

"I have cash," Galina said with a dismissive wave.

"So stubborn," Sam grumbled as she swiped her finger across the answer button on her cell phone. "Hi, baby," she spoke into the receiver as she excused herself from the table. "Give me just a second."

Pulling her own phone from her purse, Galina frowned as she scrolled along the lock screen to see several messages and over ten missed calls from Nicky. Worried, she hurriedly unlocked her phone and went to her messaging app.

7:50pm- Answer your phone!

7:55pm- Ma! WTF! Are you serious right now?

8:00pm- I get you're mad but this is childish. I can't believe this. Where the fuck are you?

8:05pm- This is fucking ridiculous. ANSWER YOUR FUCKING PHONE!

The messages continued. On and on. Every five minutes. As Galina worked to comprehend what Nicky was so mad about, another message came through her phone.

9:30pm- Forget it. Whatever. It's my fault. I shouldn't have made you go out on this stupid date. Please, call me, I'm getting worried. Are you hiding in a grocery store or something? Don't do that. Just come home… don't be weird. Love you.

Just as she was typing out a reply, Piper reappeared with the check. "Thank you," she said politely as Galina handed her a ten-dollar bill. "You ladies have a good night."

"Wait," Galina said as studied the ticket and the debit card side by side. "I think this is the wrong card."

Piper frowned taking the card and ticket from her. "No," she said confidently, reaching her hand into the pocket of her apron for the black receipt book she had another tables ticket in. "This is your ticket, and the card she gave me," she said as she opened the book. "I only have one other ticket and it belongs to that couple of there," Piper explained, gesturing to a table a few feet away. "Mr. Caputo and his wife Natalie are regulars."

"But this says Gloria Mendoza," Galina ran her hand over her mouth. "Her name is Samantha Healy."

"That's the card she gave me," Piper shrugged. "Give me a second to drop this off at their table and I'll be back."

Galina gritted as she held the card tightly in her hands. Did this woman just buy their dinner with a stolen card? Her cell phone began to vibrate in her hand and when she saw Nicky's name flash across the screen, she quickly answered it.

"Nicky,"

"It's about fucking time you answered!" Nicky shouted into the receiver. "Where the hell are you? What you doing? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, what are you freaking out about?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm at dinner, trying to figure out this bill. I didn't hear my phone going off. It's on silent. What are all your messages about?" Galina asked tensely. "Oh, and when I get home you and I are going to have a serious talk."

"What are you talking about? Who are you at dinner with?"

"Sam," Galina answered. "Samantha… or Gloria... Whatever the fuck this woman's name is. Nicky, why did you set me up with a woman? This night… I don't even know what to think about it."

"A woman? What are you talking about?" Nicky asked in disbelief. "Who is Gloria?"

"She's the real Sam!"

"Have you been smoking crack?" Nicky exclaimed. "Sam isn't a woman. What the hell have you been doing for the last two hours?"

"What?"

"Sam… Sam Healy is a man, Ma. Why would I set you up with a woman? He's the counselor for my office. I was hoping he'd offer me a job when I finished my rotations for school, but now since you blew him off, I'm probably going to have to find a new preceptor so that I can finish my hours. He waited for you at that restaurant for over an hour, Ma. What the fuck?"

She understood what Nicky was saying, but Galina couldn't quite get her head around it. She looked up just as she saw the woman, she'd been dining with walk toward her, her own cell phone still pressed against her ear, she looked every bit as confused as Galina felt.

"What do you mean you don't know who I'm talking about?" The woman asked into the phone. "I'm looking right at her. Don't tell me I'm crazy, I've been with her for the last two hours. She's got red hair, blue eyes, and a Russian accent."

The two women stared at one another, their daughters shouting in their ear. Piper reappeared and tapped the younger of the two women on the shoulder.

"Ma'am," she whispered, "Can I see your ID?"

"Reina, hold on," the Hispanic woman put her daughter on speak and set the phone down on the table. She opened her purse, pulled out her purple wallet and quickly handed over her ID. She looked across the table at the red head. "What the hell is going on?" She asked.

Galina handed Piper the debit card and shook her head. "Nicky, let me call you back." She didn't bother to wait for a response as she tossed her phone carelessly into her purse. Galina pointed at the cards in Piper's hand. "What is your name?" She asked.

"Gloria Mendoza," Gloria said thickly. "Why? What is your name?"

"Galina," she answered. "Reznikov. I thought your name was Sam Healy?"

"Why would my name be Sam?" Gloria asked in exasperation. "Do I look like a Sam Healy?"

"I thought Sam was short for Samantha. How am I supposed to know who you are?" Galina asked.

"You sat through a two-hour dinner and you didn't know each other's name?" Gloria's daughter voice boomed from the speaker. She erupted into a fit of laughter. "That's just fucking great."

"Reina, it is not funny," Gloria said as she took her off speaker and held the phone to her ear. "Who was I supposed to meet tonight?" She asked as she took back her debit card and ID from Piper. "You made jokes all week about it being a woman."

"His name was Arturo. I thought I told you that." Reina couldn't help but laugh again. "Anyway, you probably dodged a bullet. He got arrested this afternoon for robbing some bodega. I meant to call you, but Bella and I ended up taking a nap and I overslept. I didn't want you waiting around for him all night."

"This is not funny," Gloria shook her head as she heard her daughter start laughing once more. "I bet he robbed that place because he didn't have money to take me out tonight."

"Aww, Mami," Reina cooed. "Be nice."

"Broke bum," Gloria muttered under her breath. She met Galina's eyes and shook her head at the smile she was gifted in return. "Okay, mija. I'm going to let you go. I should be home soon." Making sure the call was disconnected before she threw the phone in her purse, she looked at Galina with an exhausted expression.

"So, this Sam Healy person you were supposed to meet tonight?"

"Apparently he is my daughter's preceptor. She is finishing up her degree in counseling and he's basically her boss." Galina shook her head in annoyance. "Who were you supposed to meet?"

"Some guy who was never going to show. He got busted today robbing a bodega."

"Our girls," Galina sighed. "Where do they find these people and think, that's a good idea, mom, you should go on a date with this person." She rubbed her hand through the top of her hair in frustration. "I should make Nicky open my store at six-thirty tomorrow while I sleep in as punishment."

"Oh," Gloria sighed. "That sounds nice. I have to be up early in the morning too and I'm already dreading it."

"For work?" Galina asked as she rose up on her feet.

"Yea, there's some stuff I didn't finish tonight that I need to knock out before I start teaching class." Gloria followed her out of the restaurant, and they stood together on the sidewalk for a time, talking, putting off goodbye.

"I guess I better get going," Galina said. She nodded behind her and said, "I live that way."

"Me too," Gloria said, but she gestured in the opposite direction. "Let me get your number so that I can call you this weekend."

"I look forward to hearing from you, Mendoza," Galina said as she typed her number into the phone before handing it back. "And, it really was nice meeting you tonight. I had a great time."

"You too, Reznikov," Gloria winked. "I'll see you this weekend?"

"I'm counting on it."


	2. Chapter 2

-02-

"So, tell me about your date," Nicky said, leaning against the counter where her mother worked. "She must have been something if you didn't walk out on her. I never thought of you as the type who'd date a woman, but I guess it was just a matter of you finding the right girl."

"Nicky, I am not dating a woman." Galina sighed tiredly and sprinkled more flour onto the dough she was manipulating. "I've told you twenty times how my night went, why do you keep asking?"

"I'm just curious," Nicky told her with a smile. "You said she wasn't shocked that you were a woman?"

Galina shook her head. "She said her daughter had made jokes all week about setting her up with one."

"Are you sure she isn't a lesbian?"

"I think it was just a joke," Galina said. "She mentioned an ex and she told me she has four kids. She was on the phone with her daughter when I was on the phone with you, and the daughter told her that the guy she was really supposed to be meeting, had gotten arrested that afternoon for robbing a bodega."

"Gee," Nicky frowned. "What a prize. Healy is a little on the odd side, but at least he is isn't robbing people. I have to face him today, actually, and let's just say that I am less than thrilled."

"Why? You're not the one who stood him up."

"That makes it worse," her daughter groaned. "I have to go in the and explain that my sixty-year old mother is a flake."

Galina rolled her eyes. "You know, you wouldn't have to explain a thing if you just minded your business. That's a lesson you can take to your patients, by the way. A lot of them wouldn't have the problems they did if they'd focus on their own life."

"Hey, I told you about the weeping woman in confidence," Nicky said pointing a finger at her. "Don't go around telling anyone about that."

"If you're going to be here bothering me, could you at least lend a hand?" Galina asked. "You can start a pot of regular coffee and decaf and then you check the food in the oven." Wiping her hands off on her apron, she pulled out her cellphone and sighed at the empty notification screen.

"Ma, it's not even six yet, she isn't going to call you right now," Nicky joked.

Galina narrowed her eyes. "Who said I was waiting for her to call?" She tucked the phone back into her pocket and recommenced the kneading of dough. "It's Lida's off day. She usually likes to come by and help me out when she is off."

"I don't know if she necessarily likes to help," Nicky argued. "Besides that, she wouldn't text or call you either at six in the morning. You know she left the kids at her mother's. I bet she's gonna sleep in until noon. I would if I had to wrangle two tiny gremlins every day."

"You don't have kids and could easily sleep until mid-afternoon. What is your excuse for that, Nicky?"

"I don't have one, I just like to sleep. I never denied that."

Ignoring her, Galina cut the dough she was working with into equal pieces. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and wiping her hands off, she pulled her phone from her pocket and into view. Across her screen, was a text message from Gloria.

6:03am- Good morning, Lady! I know it's early, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much fun I had with you last night.

Galina felt her cheeks tint pink and a smile tug at the corners of her lips. She read Gloria's message over again, and before she ever had time to formulate a response, her phone buzzed again, and another message came through.

6:04am- I know you said you worked late during the week, but how late is late? I have tickets to a baseball game tonight. Any chance you'd be interested?

Pinching her bottom lip between her thumb and index finger, Galina's brain raced for the right words to reply with. She felt a warm breath fan out against her neck and turned her head to see Nicky mouthing along silently as she read the text messages over her shoulder.

"She's already texting you? At this hour? She must really like you."

"What are you doing?" Galina asked, shrugging her off.

"Ah, don't be shy, Ma. I think it's cute. You must have really made an impression if she woke up and thought about you first thing," Nicky said as she reached her hand out for her phone.

Galina turned, holding the phone tightly to her chest. "She said she had to work early this morning too," she explained. "She didn't just wake up and text me out of a dead sleep."

"You aren't going to let me read?"

"No!"

"You know," Nicky pouted, "I'd let you read my messages… but I think they'd scare you."

Galina clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in thought. "She asked me to go to a baseball game with her tonight," she admitted. "I don't know what to say. I don't know anything about baseball. Russian's don't play baseball."

"Yea," Nicky chuckled. "Pretty sure you gave me that same speech when I tried out for the softball team in Highschool."

"You only tried out for that team because you wanted to see that Alex girl change in the locker room, you little perv." Galina began to type out a reply but quickly erased it. She could see the little gray bubbles moving, indicating that Gloria was typing too, and she felt her heart begin to beat a little faster. "What is Alex up to now?" she asked curiously, lifting her eyes up from her phone, "have you heard from her?"

"Last I heard she was working for an international drug smuggling ring."

Galina glared at her daughter. "That's not funny," she said thickly.

Nicky held her hands up in surrender. "I'm not joking. She wanted me to go out of town with her a few months ago. Told me all I had to do was carry a suitcase full of money, but I said no. We all know you'd never visit me if I ended up in prison."

The little gray bubbles Galina had been watching disappeared. She repressed a sigh of disappointment. "What do I say?" she asked. "Should I go? Maybe it will be fun."

"Why not," Nicky shrugged. "What else are you doing tonight that is so important?"

"After doing some prep work for tomorrow? Nothing." Exhaling a deep breath, she typed out her message and read it three times before hitting send. She'd had such a good time at dinner, it felt like

6:15am- Hey! Good morning! I had a great night with you, too. What time is the game?

She got a response from Gloria immediately: "It starts at 6:30."

"She said it starts at 6:30. If Lida comes over to help, do you think you can close up, count the deposit, and handle getting things ready for tomorrow?"

"I've grown up in this store my whole life," Nicky told her with a dismissive wave. "Of course, I can handle it."

At her words, Galina typed out another text message: "Sounds good. Where is it going to be? Did you want to meet or go together?"

"I'm going to leave from work. What's your work address? If I get out early enough, we can go together, otherwise, just meet."

"I'm going to head out to the office," Nicky said from across the store. "I'll be back around four to help you. Do you need me to bring you some clothes before I come in?" Getting no answer, she walked up to the counter near the register and leaned across it heavily. "Mother," she called in a sing song voice. "Did you hear me?"

"Mm, yea sweetheart, love you too," Galina said distractedly as she continued to smile down at her phone.

Nicky rolled her eyes. "That's not what I said, but okay, Ma. I love you too."

…

The day had passed by all too quickly, which was just as well. Catching her first break since the busy rush stampeded her that morning, Galina retrieved her phone from her pocket and poured herself a large glass of water before quickly gulping it down. She couldn't help but feel disappointed that the only message she had in the notification screen was from Nicky. Between her continuous line of customers and what she assumed was Gloria's busy class schedule, they hadn't been able to continuously engage in their texting conversation. Briefly, she thought about sending Gloria a text asking how her day was going but decided against it. In less than an hour, she'd be seeing her again anyway.

"I'm going to wipe down the tables and then I'll run home and get you a change of clothes," Lida told her as she untied the apron around her waist.

"That's alright, darling," Galina said as she poured herself another cup of water. "Nicky just texted me that she was on her way with them. I must not have heard her this morning when she mentioned it." Putting her phone back into her pocket, she walked around the counter to sit at an empty table that Lida had just cleaned. "Do you have plans tonight?" she asked conversationally.

"Nah," Lida shook her head. "I think I'm just going to a pizza for dinner and call it a night. I'm too lazy to go home and cook. Vera's going through this thing where she hates any and everything I make anyway and I'm not in the mood to argue with someone who still can't put their shoes on the right feet."

Galina chuckled and brought her feet up to rest in the chair across from her. "Can you believe I'd leave from here, go home and make a full meal, argue with the kids about homework and taking a bath, and still stay up until after midnight just so I could have an hour or two to myself, with no one needing me or asking something of me?"

"Only because you're insane," Lida told her as she moved over to wipe down a third table. "Are you excited about tonight? You've never been to a baseball game, have you?"

"No. I don't know anything about baseball, but she asked, and it beats going home to an empty house."

"You know you're always welcome to come to our house," Lida told her sincerely.

"And eat pizza?" Galina asked with a raised brow. "I don't think so. Although, I am getting hungry. I wonder if we'd be able to get something before, we go to the game."

"You have a whole kitchen of food back there," Lida pointed in exasperation. "Go eat something."

"What if she is hungry?" Galina frowned. "I'd rather eat with her. Maybe I should take something just in case we can't stop."

"Take some change, I'm sure they have concession stands," Lida teased her.

Galina scoffed. "You really think I'd eat something from there?" She shook her head no. "Definitely not." Turning her wrist to look at her watch, she frowned at the time. "I hope Nicky gets here soon with my clothes. She's cutting it close to time."

The front door opened, and the little bell attached to it jingled loudly throughout the empty store. "I'll be with you in just a second," Lida said without looking over her shoulder.

"I'm looking-hey!"

"Gloria, hi!" Galina greeted her cheerfully. She dropped her feet from the chair she'd been resting them on and made a move to stand. Before she could get to her feet, Gloria was at her side pushing her back down. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought I was going to have to meet you."

"I got out early. I didn't realize we worked so close to one another. I'm just a couple blocks over," Gloria explained as she folded her sun glasses in her hand and set them on the table.

"You look so sporty," Galina told her as she surveyed her outfit. Gloria was dressed in a pair of jeans and a New York Yankees t-shirt, a blue baseball cap with the Yankee logo on her head. "Have a seat," she told her, gesturing to the empty chair across from her. "I'm waiting for Nicky to get here with my clothes," she explained, motioning down to her black slacks and striped shirt she was wearing. "Did you walk here?"

"Yea," Gloria answered as she looked around the place curiously. She could tell the place had been recently upgraded and she nodded her head in appreciation at how well put together it looked. "It takes me longer to get home then it took me to get here. Maybe I can stop in for coffee sometimes tomorrow."

Galina smiled at her and turned her head to see Lida staring at them curiously. "Gloria," she said, suddenly remembering her manners. "This is Lida, my daughter in law. Lida, this is Gloria," she introduced them.

"I figured," Lida smiled, extending her hand to the older woman. "Galina told me you two wanted to have a play date for the kids this weekend," she began conversationally.

"Yes. Your daughter was the one who wanted to do dance, correct?" Gloria asked her. She adjusted in her chair to pull out a piece of paper from her back pocket. "That reminds me, I made some calls during my lunch break today for a dance studio for her. I wasn't sure what you wanted to put her in, but I found some affordable classes where they teach ballet, tap, jazz, and even hip-hop," she explained as she handed her the paper.

"Wow, thank you so much!" Lida exclaimed. "I really appreciate this. Too bad you don't teach them, based off this alone I'd rather give you my money over anyone else."

"You still can," Gloria joked. "I teach Zumba and I found an instructor today I want to bring in for pole-dancing if you're interested."

Lida shook her head. "I don't think so," she laughed, "but nice try."

"Gloria, did you want something to eat or drink?" Galina asked.

"You don't want to eat at the game?" Gloria frowned. "You can't go to a baseball game and not eat a hotdog."

"I told you!" Lida exclaimed, swatting her mother-in-law playfully. She looked up at the front door opened and returned her attention back to the table when she saw it was only Nicky.

"A hot dog?" Galina's eyes widened in disbelief as she stood to take the bag from her daughter. Shaking her head in disgust, she felt an actual shiver run down her spine. "Please tell me you're joking?" She motioned between Nicky and Gloria with her hand, making quick introductions before excusing herself to change.

Nicky quickly took a seat in her mother's chair. "You are a lot prettier than I expected," she told her truthfully.

"Nicky!" Lida reprimanded her, her large brown eyes widening in horror.

"What?" Nicky exclaimed. "Have you seen my dad? He looks like a walking sweater. I didn't think she'd look this good."

"Um," Gloria laughed in amusement. "Thank you, I think? Your mother told me that you had quite a way with words, I guess she wasn't exaggerating." Reclining back in her chair, she crossed her right leg over her left. "I heard you tried to set her up with your preceptor. How did he take to being stood up?"

"She told you about that, huh?" Nicky sighed and crossed her legs so that she was mimicking the way Gloria was sitting. "Let's just say today was awkward. On the plus side, he still seems interested, so I guess that is good. I don't think she's going to go for it though, so there goes that."

"There goes what?" Galina asked as she re-emerged. She was also dressed in a pair of jeans, a navy-blue V-neck and a pair of sneakers. She smoothed her hands down the sides of her thighs self-consciously. "I didn't know I even owned jeans, Nicky."

"Not a surprise, Ma. They still had the tag on them. They were shoved in the back of the drawer. I thought I was going to have to go out and buy you a pair. Those are my shoes by the way, so I want them back."

Galina rolled her eyes and handed Nicky the bag she'd put her work clothes and shoes in. "You ready to go, Gloria?"

"Yea," the brunette said as she rose to her feet. "Nice meeting you, ladies."

"You too," the younger women echoed as they watched them walk out of the store.

As the door closed behind them, Nicky let out a low whistle of appreciation. "I was definitely getting some sapphic vibes from her, what about you?"

"My attention was on her ass," Lida confessed. "Do you think it's real? How do I get mine to look like that?"

"Pray," Nicky said. "Because only God himself can create something that perfect."

…

Never being much of a sports fanatic, Galina knew very little about what was happening on the field below. She tried to keep up with Gloria as she explained what was going on, but she struggled to maintain her interest. It was a conscious effort to not look annoyed, and the large man sitting to her right made it that much more challenging as he constantly jolted her with his every movement.

She felt as if she'd been confined in a bubble, and the loud cheering and screaming were as annoying and painful to her ears as nails scratching down the length of a chalkboard. If it wasn't for Gloria who seemed so entertained and immersed in the game, she would have sorely regretted coming.

"Hey," Gloria asked against her ear. "Are you okay, you don't look like you're having fun."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, guilt immediately spreading to her face in the form of a blush. "I thought it was going to be more fun than this," she admitted. The man next to her threw his arms out in excitement as the batter down on the field hit the ball he'd just been pitched, and Galina had to physically bite her tongue as the force in which he jolted her threw her into Gloria's shoulder.

"It's okay," Gloria consoled her, patting her knee. "Can we finish this inning?" she asked, jetting her heard toward the clock. "There's only a few minutes left."

"I feel bad for making you leave," Galina confessed against her ear. It wasn't every day someone invited her to go out. She didn't have many friends and she feared that her negativity about being here would keep Gloria from wanting to be her friend or inviting her to anything in the future. "We can stay and finish the rest of the game if you want."

Gloria laughed gently and she squeezed her knee again. "It's okay, I come all the time. I always get season tickets. Did your ex-husband ever watch sports?"

"To be honest with you, I'm not sure what he did." Galina unscrewed the overpriced bottle of water Gloria had bought for her and took a large drink. "What about you? How did you get so into sports, did you have brothers, or did your ex watch them?"

"He did, but even as a kid I always liked sports." Gloria fed herself the last handful of the popcorn she had bought. "I was an only child, which is probably why I had so many kids."

Rolling her eyes, Galina bumped her shoulder playfully. "Did your kids play sports?" she asked. "My youngest, Lida's husband, Vasily, he plays rugby. Maxsim was always very uncoordinated. I guess he got that from me. Yuri was a sore loser and Nicky never paid any attention. I wanted her to do ballet when she was younger but trying to put that girl in a pink tutu, you'd have thought I was preforming an exorcism on her."

"She's too much," Gloria shook head in amusement. "My girls loved to dance, and my sons dance too. Julio and Benny play baseball for their high school. I don't know if Benny is going to be able to play in the next game they have though, it will all depend on his grades this upcoming report card. I mean this in the nicest way, but my girls were always smarter than my sons. I don't know what is wrong with those fools."

"I question what is wrong with my kids at least once a day," Galina confessed.

Gloria chuckled and scanned her eyes around for a concession worker. "I liked meeting Lida and Nicky. I bet I would like your sons, too."

"What are you getting now?" Galina asked in amassment as Gloria waved her hand, calling a young man over to them. She'd seen her put away a hot dog, an ice cream, a large soda and popcorn with such ease, she couldn't possibly understand how she could still be hungry. The crowd began to cheer as the teams below finished the inning and made their way back to the dugout, and the kiss cam on the jumbotron came on.

"Cotton candy," Gloria said as she plucked the purple delicacy from the guy's tray. "It's not for me so you can quit looking at me that way. It's for my granddaughter." She passed the guy the change and smiled at the look of amazement on Galina's face. As she stood up to put her change back into her pocket, she was unaware of just how much the people around them were screaming.

Reaching down to gather trash that had accumulated at their feet, Galina then pushed herself to stand up. The screams were becoming even louder, and she finally turned her head to see what everyone around them was losing their minds over.

"Kiss!" The crowd around them cheered, an image of the two of them was displayed on the jumbotron, surrounded by a big, red heart.

"What? No!" Galina exclaimed in embarrassment. The bubble she'd felt earlier confined in seemed to get even smaller as the crowd around them grew louder and the camera zoomed in on them even more. It felt as if the entire stadium was zoned in on them. Ducking her head, she was sure she had never felt so humiliated in all her life.

The cheers morphed into a coo of disappointment, and Galina thought she'd even heard someone boo her, but within seconds the cheering started up again. Lifting her head, she watched as a young man, who'd been sitting behind them, who couldn't have been older than twenty-five, stood up and leaned forward. He reached out for Gloria's arm and pulled her toward him hungrily for a kiss. It was quick, brief, and just playful enough to not cause any real damage. Her mouth agape as she watched them, Galina was sure her hatred for baseball had just been forever solidified.


	3. Chapter 3

-03-

Saturday morning found Galina in her office, filing paperwork and preparing her inventory for the next month's order. While she would have preferred to be on the floor helping Nicky and Maxsim tend to the patrons in her store, she was insanely behind. She hadn't done the best job keeping things in order since her divorce, and now she was now paying the price. Sighing tiredly, she mechanically hole-punched a stack of order forms and clipped them into a three-ring binder.

Her phone vibrated against the desk and without even looking at it, she knew it was Gloria. They'd talked every day since they'd met, and even though it had only been a week Galina felt as if she'd known Gloria her whole life. Conversations never felt forced or uncomfortable, and it was nice to have someone who was just hers, that cared to know how her day was going.

She wasn't a woman who had many friends, but Gloria felt different from anyone that she had ever met. After the baseball game they had attended earlier that week, they'd gone to a bar and had dinner and a few drinks, laughing at how insane the night had been. Galina had teased her about the young man who'd kissed her, exclaiming that he was young enough to be her son.

"Don't be jealous," Gloria had rolled her eyes. "If you weren't so caught up in your ways, you would have kissed me too."

"Please, you're so conceited."

"Nah, just confident. I've been told I'm a pretty good kisser."

Where Gloria got the confidence to say some of the things that she did, Galina wasn't sure. She reminded her a lot of Nicky though and she wondered if that was why she enjoyed her company so much. Gloria didn't seem like the type of woman who cared what other people thought, and that was as refreshing as it was terrifying. For so long, Galina had lived for everyone else, worrying and overthinking just how she would be perceived if she didn't go out of her way to prove what a devoted wife and mother she was.

Picking up her phone, she smiled at Gloria's message. "Hey, hope you had a good night! Sorry I didn't call you back, I fell asleep early. Are we still on for this afternoon with the kids?"

Galina nodded gently to herself as she slid her thumb across the screen to unlock her phone. "Good morning! How did you sleep?" she typed, gently biting her bottom lip. "I'd love to see you. I think the kids will have a lot of fun at the park, but I think it's supposed to rain today."

They had seen one another every day since their initial meeting, and Galina was truly looking forward to the playdate they had scheduled for their grandchildren. Lida's children, Koyla and Vera, were very excited to meet Anabella, Gloria's granddaughter, and Galina hoped that they would all have a lot of fun playing together.

Gloria: I slept with a tiny foot in my ribs. My granddaughter is under the impression that my bed is her bed LOL. How about you? Hopefully your night wasn't too lonely without me, I was so exhausted, crashed as soon as I got home. Looking forward to seeing you today and meeting the babies. If it rains, did you want to do something else?

Red: It's okay, I know you were tired. You had classes back to back last night. I spent the evening trying to catch up on paperwork. Would you want to take the kids to the movies? I don't know if Anabella would sit still, but Koyla and Vera will.

Gloria: Mmm. Could we hang out at your house and watch one? Or we can go to mine?

Red: You can come over if you want.

Gloria: Great! Want me to meet you at your restaurant? I'll txt you when I'm on the way, I'm about to start my Zumba class.

Red: Sounds great, have a good class.

Setting her phone back on the desk, Galina smiled. There was a light knocking on her office door and half a second later Nicky appeared.

"Hi, sweetheart," Galina smiled at her. "Everything okay out there?"

"Yea," Nicky nodded, taking a seat in the chair across from her mother. "People are starting to clear out, but I thought you could use some help in here."

"I could, but I need you on the floor. You or Maxsim can start cooking the next batch of zeffir." Galina hole-punched another stack of papers before clipping them into the binder. "Lida will be in at lunchtime with Vasily to take over for the night."

"Oh, yea, are you going somewhere?" Nicky asked curiously.

"Yes," Galina smiled. "I'm taking Koyla and Vera to the park if it doesn't rain. Gloria's going to bring her granddaughter so they can have a playdate."

"Skies are already looking pretty dark," Nicky told her. She slouched in the chair she was sitting in and propped her feet up on the desk. "You seem to be spending a lot of time with Gloria lately."

Galina smiled at her daughter. "She's really nice. I didn't think anything good would come out of you meddling and trying to set me up with your teacher, but I guess it has. I think we've seen one another every day this week."

"What did you two do last night?" Nicky asked curiously.

"Well, I didn't see her last night because she had class, but she came here for lunch," Galina explained. "She keeps trying to convince me to take one of her dance classes. I told her that she'd have more luck trying to get you and Lida to go."

"I'm not really the dancing type, Ma, you know" Nicky chuckled. "Maybe Lida could convince Lorna to go with her, and Gloria could teach her how to give a proper lap dance."

"Nicky," Galina growled her daughter's name, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm serious. The last time Lorna tried to dance for me, she just looked like a drunk penguin. I really thought she was going to break her ankle and it ruined the whole seductive vibe she was going for."

"I'm sure Lorna would love to hear you talk about her this way," Galina shook her head.

Nicky smirked. "Well, as you can imagine most women are pretty forgiving… not you, you tend to hold a grudge."

Galina narrowed her eyes at her daughter, halting in the rhythmic filing of her paperwork.

"Don't look at me like that. You haven't let anything go, ever. Gloria seems like a good balance for you, she actually still wants to be friends with you after you made her leave the baseball game. I would have been so irritated with you."

Rolling her eyes, Galina turned her attention to her computer. "She has season tickets, she'll be okay. Besides, she got kissed by a handsome stranger that night, anyway, so I don't think she's complaining too much. The kid was young enough to be her son."

"Way to go, Gloria!" Nicky exclaimed with a prideful laugh. "Maybe that's what you need, Ma- a younger man."

"I think absolutely not."

"Worth a shot," Nicky shrugged.

The office door opened, and both women turned to look at Maxsim as he entered the room. "Hey, Ma," he said as he dried his hands on a dish towel. "I just wanted to come check-in with you before I left."

"You're leaving?" Nicky frowned at him. "That's not fair. I've been here since 5 AM with Ma, helping her prep and cook, and you didn't show up until like an hour ago. Why do you get to leave early?"

"Ma said I could."

"No, she didn't!"

"Yes, she did!"

"No, she didn't!"

"Yes, she did," Maxsim said through gritted teeth. "You're not the boss, Nicky."

"No, I'm the boss," Galina objected. "But your sister is right. She's been here since this morning and she's going to stay until Lida and Vasily get here. How come you can't do the same? I really need to finish in the office and she's going to need help. I can't be in two places at once, Maxsim."

"I told you that I couldn't stay all day, Ma," Maxsim argued. "You said it was fine that I left early."

"I said it was fine if you left at one," Galina clarified. "You know that."

"What difference does a couple of hours make?" he asked. "I have plans this afternoon, too."

"Oh, you have plans," Nicky mocked him, rolling her eyes heavenward. "With who? Our sperm donor? It's definitely not with the mother that's been calling you for weeks and weeks."

"You're so childish, Nicky."

"No, you're childish," Nicky said.

"Both of you are childish! Are we seriously doing this?" Galina asked in frustration. "You two are not kids anymore, you both need to start acting like adults. Nicky, get back onto the floor and Maxsim, have a seat." She shooed Nicky out of the room and pointed at the chair, sternly eyeing her son, daring him to disobey her.

After a minute she finally spoke. "Maxsim, what's going on with you?"

"Nothing," he replied calmly. "I really do have plans this afternoon. I didn't think it was going to be this a big deal just to leave."

"I understand that and that's okay, but I mean… is there more going on? Because Nicky's right, I haven't seen much of you lately. You don't answer my calls or my texts, you don't call me. I can't remember the last time you came over for dinner with the family. It's like you evaporated into thin air."

"Look, Ma, it's nothing personal, I've just been spending a lot of time with Pop."

Reclining back in her chair, Galina pursed her lips together thoughtfully. "How is your father?" she asked finally. "Is he getting settled into his new place okay?"

"Yea," Maxsim nodded his head. "He's doing okay. They've got a nice place."

Galina nodded her head. "Glad things are working out for him."

Maxsim smiled at her gently. "No, you're not," he shook his head. "Look, Ma, I know you think I've abandoned you, but the truth is everyone abandoned Pop. He doesn't have anyone to rely on the way that you do."

"Your father made his bed," Galina said evenly. "There are consequences for actions and unfortunately this is the price he is going to pay."

"Ma-"

"No, Maxsim. Look, I've never purposely gone out of my way to influence the opinions you kids have on your dad. The way your brothers and Nicky feels is all their own. I'm not stopping you from having a relationship with him, but I am saying you need to make just as much an effort to be in my life as you're making to be in his."

"Okay," her son nodded his head. "I get what you're saying. Maybe we could do something next week and I'll come by to help you in the store this week."

"What about family dinner?" she asked.

"You think Nicky's attitude is new?" Maxsim questioned her, arching his brow. "That's not new, Ma. I've been arguing with everyone for months. You should see the messages Yuri sent me a couple of weeks ago."

"What are you talking about?" Galina frowned.

"They all blame me for your divorce," Maxsim explained. "They think I had something to do with it or that I'm betraying you because I still talk to our dad. Why is that my fault? You two were hardly the picture of health. Nothing about that marriage was healthy and we all know it."

Galina sighed and gently scratched her hand through the top of her hair. "You're right, it's not your fault," she reassured her son. "Your father and I have had problems for a while and instead of handling that between us, he ran. He is the one who had an affair. He is the one who left. What he did wasn't okay and I'm still angry with him. I know better than to ask you to cut him out of your life. I would never do that."

"I know," Maxsim said gently.

"I don't like him very much right now and yes; it does hurt me that you spend so much time with him but can't return my calls or come for dinner. I didn't know that your brothers and sister were giving you such a hard time about things though, so that makes a lot of sense. I wouldn't want to have dinner with them either, but Maxsim you can't just cut yourself out of this family with no explanation. I'm not punishing you for what happened, but if there's anything that I deserve from you, then it's your honesty."

Maxsim nodded his head. "Fair enough," he agreed. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Ma. It was never anything personal. I just don't want to be around them when all they do is blame me for things that aren't even my fault."

Galina smiled at him. "I'll talk to them," she promised. Standing up she walked around her desk to embrace her son. He was much taller than she was, but the smallest out of his brothers. "Now," she said once they separated, "Get back to work. You can leave when Lida and Vasily get here."

"Fine," he sighed. "Can I at least work on paperwork and you work with Nicky? I kept visualizing what it would be like to shove her into an over, and the more and more she talked, the more and more I thought I was going to do it."

"Great," Galina rolled her eyes. "That's all I need: for you to shove your sister into an oven. We'd be like that market on the other side of town, where they found body parts in the freezers." Walking back to her computer, she demonstrated what she wanted him to do. Her kids had grown up underfoot and had seen her work all of their lives. At this point, she felt confident leaving the store in their able hands, but it made her feel better to talk them through the process anyway.

...

"Grandma!" Vera and Koyla exclaimed excitedly as they raced across the store over to where their grandmother was wiping down tables.

"Hi, Grandma!" Vera exclaimed happily as she threw her arms around her grandmother's waist. "Did you miss me?" she asked. "It's been a lot of years since you've seen me!"

Galina chuckled as she hugged her granddaughter back. "I did miss you, my love," she told her as she leaned down to kiss her crown of red hair. "Did you miss me?" she asked. "You've been spending a lot of time with Grandma Honey lately."

"Yea, she's nice," Koyla said as he hugged his grandma. "She doesn't cook as good as you, though. She bought us cookies from the store." He stared up at her with big eyes, hoping to convey just how disappointed he was in his Grandma Honey without having to say it.

"Be nice," Lida nudged her son.

Galina chuckled, stroking his hair back as she kissed his cheek. Lida's mother was a wonderful grandmother to the kids and every time that she'd been in her company, Galina had enjoyed her. However, no one wanted to be second-best, so it made her incredibly happy that she was the favorite. Her whole life the only thing she had ever wanted to be was a mother and a grandmother, and she was glad that all her efforts to be a present and involved one were not going unnoticed or unappreciated.

"I'm sure your Grandma Honey enjoyed spending so much time with you, but I'm glad to have you back," Galina told them as she took a seat at the table, she'd just finished cleaning. She pulled Vera onto her lap and patted the seat next to her so that Koyla would sit down.

"They ate, but I'm sure they'll be hungry again," Vasily told his mother as he kissed her cheek in greeting.

"That's fine, I was going to make lunch anyway," Galina said as she played with the long ends of Vera's ponytail. "We're waiting for my friend to get here, but I think we're going to have a lot of fun together today."

"What are we going to do?" Koyla asked her.

"Well, I wanted to take you to the park, but I think it's going to rain," Galina said as she looked out the large windows of her store. The skies were still gray and even though it hadn't started raining, lightning was already starting to crackle in the sky.

"Well that's not fun," Vera said.

"No, that's not very fun," Galina agreed. "My friend is going to bring her granddaughter and I think you'll like her. She's a little bit younger than you, Vera, but she doesn't have any brothers or sisters, so she doesn't have many kids to play with."

"Well that's okay," Vera said. "I don't always like my brother."

"Well, I don't always like you," Koyla told her with a frown.

"I don't always like my sister either, Koyla," Maxsim said with a smile as he and Nicky walked behind the counter to great their niece and nephew.

Nicky rolled her eyes as she plucked Vera from Galina's lap. "Trust me, kid, you never really like your brother you just always learn to tolerate them." She kissed her niece's cheek and then nipped at it playfully.

"Aunt Nicky, are you going to come play with us too?" Vera asked her.

"No, I have to go home and do some homework," Nicky frowned. "Maybe we could do something another day. You know Lorna and I have a swimming pool now at our apartment. When it gets hot in a couple of weeks, we can all go swimming."

"Ah!" Vera gasped excitedly. "I have a mermaid swimsuit."

"I have dinosaurs!" Koyla exclaimed, reaching his arms out for his aunt. "Dinosaurs are cool, right Nicky?"

"I think dinosaurs are rad," Nicky agreed. "They're my favorite."

"Dinosaurs aren't that cool," Vera rolled her eyes. "If they were, they wouldn't have all died."

"At least they're real, unlike your fake mermaids!" Koyla shot back at her, his brows knitting together in anger.

"Mermaids are real!" Vera exclaimed passionately. "Right grandma? Right! Mermaids are real because I am a mermaid."

"Oh, my," Galina signed, rolling her eyes. "Maybe instead of a playdate, you two need a nap. If you two can't behave, we just won't do anything fun today."

"They've been arguing like this all day," Lida said with a shake of her head.

"Well, don't hold your breath for it to ever get better because it won't," Galina said as she looked between Nicky and Maxsim. Her children each glared at her respectively, but the bell on the front door, ringing loudly throughout the restaurant, kept them from saying anything.

"Hi, Gloria," Lida greeted the older woman.

"Hello, Hello," Gloria said back. She looked down at the little girl walking beside her and made a motion with her hand, almost as if she were saluting. "Say hello," she told the little girl, making the motion again.

The little girl looked at her and then at the large audience. She didn't recognize the many different faces and she didn't like how all of them were staring at her. She shook her head no and halted her step so that she could hide behind her grandmother's legs.

Shaking her head, Gloria walked over to the table and smiled. "Hi," she said again.

"Gloria, this is Maxsim and Vasily," Gloria introduced her friend to her sons. "This is my granddaughter, Vera, and my grandson, Koyla."

"Nice to meet you," Gloria said as she shook Maxsim and Vasily's hand. "Hi you guys," she waved at kids. "They're yours, Lida?" she asked, looking back and forth between them.

"Yes," Lida smiled at her.

"Very cute. Galina, she looks like your twin!"

"Has her attitude, too," Nicky smirked. "How are you doing, Gloria?"

"Tired," the older woman sighed. "I just got out of class and had to wrestle this one here to put her shoes on." She reached behind her and guided her granddaughter in front of her so that she could pick her up. "This is my granddaughter, Anabella," she introduced them.

"Hi, Anabella!" Vera exclaimed, leaning forward on the table. "Mama look, she's wearing a Tinkerbell shirt! I have that shirt too!"

Anabella stared at them all blankly, her eyes shifting back and forth between them. She looked at her grandmother as if to say, 'You're not leaving me with them, are you?'

"I can see that," Lida smiled. She reached her hand out to playfully tickle Anabella's calf, but the little girl wasn't having it. She instantly drew her legs up and wrapped them tightly around her grandmother's waist.

"Can you say hello?" Gloria asked her, making the saluting motion with her hand.

Anabella once more shook her head no and closed her eyes. She moved a hand over her face.

"Why is she doing that?" Koyla asked. He didn't seem all that impressed with the new friend his grandmother wanted him to make.

"I'm sorry," Gloria said as she adjusted her granddaughter. "She's being a little difficult today. It's always hard for her to make new friends."

"Probably because she closes her eyes," Vera said, leaning back against her grandmother's chest.

"She doesn't want to listen to me," Gloria explained gently. "She thinks that if she closes her eyes, she can do whatever she wants."

"You don't listen with your eyes," Koyla knitted his brows. "You listen with your ears."

"Some people do," Gloria agreed, "But she can't hear you, so she has to listen with her eyes."

Vera crossed her arms and looked at her brother. "How does she not hear?" she asked curiously.

"Is she deaf?" Nicky asked, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

Gloria nodded and Nicky stepped forward. She reached her hand out so that she could touch Anabella's knee, and when the little girl lifted her hand to look at her, she waved her hand at her, wanting to keep her attention.

"Hi," Nicky said gently, making the saluting motion that Gloria had made. "My," she pressed her palm to her chest and then finger spelled her name. "N-I-" she made the first two letters by tucking her thumb under her index and pointer finger and then held up her pinky. "C-K-" she cupped her hand into a C, and then put her thumb between her index and middle finger like she was making a sideways 'peace' sign. "Y" her index, middle and ring finger were tucked against her palm, while her thumb and pinky remained extended.

At this, Anabella's eyes lit up like stadium lights. She clawed her hand into Gloria's shoulder and kicked her legs out so that she could be put down on her feet. Once she was on the ground, Anabella eagerly told Nicky hello. She touched her hand to her chest the same way that Nicky had done and spelled out her name "B-E-L-L-A".

Oh! Nicky! Nicky! She's doing it top!" Vera exclaimed. Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, she made a bunch of jumbled hand motions and looked at Bella expectantly.

Bella blinked at her in confusion, her little eyebrow arching as high as her grandmother's. Galina couldn't help but laugh as she compared the reaction on Bella's face to Gloria's. While Vera may be her twin, she had Nicky's personality to a 'T'. Understandably, she knew how overwhelming that kind of personality could be.

"Gloria can help you talk to Anabella the right way when we get home," Galina told Vera gently.

Standing up, Galina excused herself to get her things together. She could hear her grandchildren ask Nicky and Gloria to talk to Anabella for them and she wondered how the rest of the afternoon would unfold. It had never occurred to her that this wouldn't be a typical play date, and in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder why Gloria hadn't mentioned that her granddaughter was deaf.


	4. Chapter 4

-04-

Unlocking the front door of her home, Galina smiled happily to herself as all three children rushed through the door in front of her. What had started off with awkward introductions between the kids, had quickly blossomed into an adorable companionship. Despite the inability to speak or understand what was being said to her, Anabella had warmed readily to Vera, holding her hand and jumping over the lines in the cement with her on their walk home from the store.

Gloria's heart had been melted by the sight and she'd quickly snapped pictures to capture the moment. She had over a thousand pictures of her granddaughter in her phone, and while each one more beautiful than the last, it was rare to see Anabella as happy as she was now. She didn't have kids her own age to play with and often struggled to make friends.

While they had originally planned to take the kids to the park, Galina and Gloria had mutually decided against it as the dark storm clouds that had been looming in the distance all morning, continued to make their presence known, the sun giving no indication that it was going to make an appearance anytime soon. Instead, they had decided to enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the warmth and comfort of Galina's home, where she promised to prepare lunch and put on a movie for the kids

"Grandma," Koyla said as he dropped to his bottom in the entryway and began to unlace his shoes. "Grandma, are we spending the night with you tonight?"

"No," Galina shook her head as she hung up her purse and shrugged off her cardigan. "Your mommy was going to pick you up tonight."

"Awe man," Vera pouted as she pulled off her booties. "Can we stay with you if we want to?"

Galina chuckled softly and watched as both of her grandchildren pouted their lips at her pleadingly. "You want to stay the night?" she asked them. "I thought you were going to your Grandma Honey's tomorrow?"

"But we want to stay with you," Vera told her sweetly. She moved over on her knees toward Anabella who was making Gloria's task of trying to unlace her little pink converse.

"I'll call your mommy later," Galina promised them. "First, why don't we show Anabella the playroom? You can help her pick out a couple of toys and bring them into the living room, so that you can watch a movie."

"Are you going to cook for me?" Koyla asked her.

"Yes, I'm going to cook for you," Galina sighed. She loved her grandchildren, but there was no denying that they exhausted her, and with being so close in age, Vera and Koyla fed off of each other. They were tiny energizer bunnies who never seemed to quit.

"Come on, my Bell," Gloria cooed to her granddaughter as she signed. "Do you want to play with toys?" she signed her. "Play," Gloria held out both of her hands, palm forward, and tucking in her pointer, middle and ring fingers on each hand, her thumbs and pinky remained extended. "Play," she repeated, turning her hands in toward her chest and then back out again. "Do you want to play?"

Anabella balled her right hand into a fist and shook it up and down.

"Was that a yes?" Vera asked curiously as she watched the exchange.

"Mmhm," Gloria smiled at her. She motioned for Vera to make the same gestures that she was. "This here," she explained as she extended her hands out and balled them into fists, her thumbs tucked beneath her pointer finger and turned her wrists in and out.

"Like this?" Vera mimicked her. At Gloria's answering nod, she made the sign again. "Toys," she said, looking Anabella in her brown eyes.

Anabella made a shrill of excitement, pointing at Vera in extreme fascination. She looked up at her grandmother for confirmation of what she was seeing and squealed.

"Aww, Grandma," Vera cooed. "Look! She gets so happy when I talk to her."

Galina watched with a smile at the milky grin on Anabella's face and at the amazement in her own granddaughters' eyes. It wasn't every day that a four-year-old worked to accommodate a deaf toddler and she was amazed at how quickly Vera had taken to asking questions and making an effort. She couldn't remember ever interacting with a deaf person before, and she was a grown woman, whereas Vera was just a little girl.

"We can play with my barbies," Vera told Anabella excitedly, as she reached for her hand to lead her into the playroom her grandmother had made up for her and her brother. "I have lots and lots."

Anabella looked back at her grandmother and held out her hand, a silent beg for Gloria to come with her. As much as she had warmed to Vera, she still didn't want Gloria to be too far away from her.

Standing in the entryway of the play room, Galina nudged Gloria gently with her shoulder and asked, "Why didn't you tell me Anabella was deaf?"

Gloria bit her lip and then shrugged her shoulders. "To be honest with you, I didn't even think about it until I was walking to your store and trying to figure out how this whole play date was going to work."

"I can see how it would be a little challenging to arrange things like this," Galina said gently.

"I'm actually surprised she's being so cooperative. She usually sits and plays by herself."

"Well, she is still a baby," Galina told her. "She's two, right?"

"She'll be three next weekend," Gloria told her with a proud smile. "I know it's last minute, but do you think the kids would like to come to her party? It's on Saturday. Maybe you or Lida could bring them by, even if it's just long enough to do her cake. It's nothing fancy, and we're keeping it small."

"I made tentative plans to do something with my son on Saturday, but I can ask Lida."

"I really wanted to throw her a big party, but she really doesn't have any friends and she's my only grandchild, so it probably wouldn't be too much fun for her."

"She'll make friends," Galina reassured her, watching in delight as Anabella picked up the toy frying pan from Vera's play kitchen. "She seems to be making herself right at home, too."

"She's a handful," Gloria agreed.

"What does she like?" Galina asked curiously. "If we are able to bring the kids, I'd like to get her a gift."

"Any kind of learning game, memory, or puzzles. She likes that kind of thing and her mom is very strict about her education. I'm the fun one who wants to take her to paint her nails and go shopping and her mom is the opposite. Sometimes I even wonder if she's really mine."

"Sometimes I wonder about my own kids," Galina chuckled. "Especially lately, like this morning. Nicky and Maxsim started arguing and it was like trying to mediate a bunch of angry five-year-old's."

"My kids argue constantly," Gloria rolled her eyes. "And I have like a twelve-year gap between my daughters and my sons. They're all insane and they wonder why I like Bella more than I like them. She's a baby and doesn't act up near as much as they do, especially my youngest son, Benny."

"I enjoy my grandchildren a lot differently than I do my kids, but they make me feel so tired and so old. They're so full of energy it's hard to keep up with them."

"Bella and I could run circles around everyone at home. She is my sidekick. Sometimes I wonder if I love her more than anyone else."

"Gloria," Galina scolded her, shaking her head in amusement. "Don't say things like that."

"I'm serious" Gloria said. "I mean look at her. She's delicious. How could not love her more than some smart-mouth kid who thinks they know everything?."

"All kids develop an attitude at some point," Gloria told her. "I've noticed it in Vera lately when she talks to Lida and I've told her she needs to start nipping it in the bud."

Gloria scoffed. "She's your grandchild alright."

"That isn't a pass to be rude to her mother," Galina said disapprovingly.

"All of that wild red hair of hers, she's bound to find some trouble," Gloria teased, bumping her shoulder against Galina's. "I'd love for Reina to have another baby so that Bella could have someone her age to play with and grow up with, but I think she would be furious and so, so jealous if she knew I loved anyone else as much as I loved her."

"She's got you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?"

"Oh, completely. My heart beats for her."

"The more the merrier," Galina smiled, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "Does she want to have any more children? What about your other daughter, I can't remember her name?"

"Selena," Gloria said with a nod. "Selena is my youngest girl and Reina, Bella's mom, is my oldest. I don't know if Reina wants more but Selena has been talking about it, so we'll see. It probably won't happen for another year or so, because she is in school now finishing her Master's degree and she just got married. She and her husband are both elementary teachers, so I think when they do decide to start their family, they'll be wonderful."

"I always wanted a big family and all of my children have kids except for Nicky and Maxsim. Nicky says she doesn't want any, but now she's dating this young woman named Lorna, and things seem to be getting serious, so we'll see if she changes her mind."

"Is Maxsim married?"

"No," Galina sighed. "I don't really know what that kid gets up to in his personal life. He's always been so secretive, but I guess that's one of the drawbacks of being born in the middle. Yuri is my oldest son and the father of my oldest grandchildren, the twins I mentioned to you before, do you remember?"

"Vaguely," Gloria admitted. "I don't know if they'd be interested in coming to the party on Saturday, but they're welcome to."

"I don't see them as often as I'd like to," Galina confessed sadly. "Yuri doesn't really bring them around and I've never gotten along well with his wife."

"I know what that is like," Gloria said as she scraped her hand through her hair. "Bella's dad isn't the greatest guy. I didn't like him from day one and I thought he was too controlling of my daughter. Thankfully, when Bella was born, Reina left. I hate to imagine how bad things could have gotten if she hadn't let me help. He used to try to give me rules about how often I could see her. My own kid. Can you believe that?"

"Anna isn't that bad, but she's a piece of work. She comes from money and I think she always thought we were beneath her. She makes it feel like it's a chore to come around for holidays and birthdays. I can't remember the last time she even came to a family event. Yuri usually comes alone."

"Your family seems really close," Galina admired her. "I feel like since my divorce everything's just falling apart. My kids are taking sides and arguing with one another and it breaks my heart. This isn't the way this next chapter of my life was supposed to go. I shouldn't have to beg my kids to sit down for a family dinner, you know?"

"Please, Galina," Gloria smiled sadly at her. "Don't let me fool you. My family is far from perfect and we struggled a lot. I didn't always make the best choices when my kids were growing up. I mean, I practically grew up with them, so, don't be so hard on yourself."

"Easier said than done."

"I know," Gloria nodded her head. "You just have to do the best you can.

Galina sighed. "I just feel like the wool has been pulled over my eyes. I knew things weren't perfect, but I didn't expect my family to get blown apart by the divorce. My kids are close in age and were best friends growing up, then today I found out that everyone is ganging up on Maxsim. He feels so attacked and out of place, it's why he hasn't picked up the phone and called me back."

"What's he upset about?" Gloria frowned.

"I don't know the whole story. I need to ask them about it, but from what he tells me, they're blaming him for mine and Dmitri's divorce. I don't really see how any of it is his fault, so I'm not sure where my kids are getting that from."

"Grandma," Vera called for her grandmother's attention, interrupting her before Galina could elaborate any further or Gloria could ask any questions. The kids were standing in front of them, their arms filled with toys and coloring books. "Can we watch the Little Mermaid now?" Vera asked.

"Honey, you always watch the Little Mermaid. Don't you want to watch something else? Maybe Snow White or Monsters Inc?"

"I want to watch Power Rangers," Koyla protested. He was sick of all the baby dolls and barbies that Vera had pulled out of the toybox, and if he had to see one more toy dressed in pink or glitter, he'd throw himself into a tantrum. Looking up at Gloria he asked her, "Don't you have a boy that I can play with?"

Gloria laughed freely and shook her head no. "I'm sorry honey," she apologized. "Why don't you pick the movie though?"

"Can we watch Toy Story?" Koyla asked his grandmother.

Galina nodded her head and lead the way into the main living space of her home. It wasn't an enormous house by any means, but it was a lot more spacious now that Dmitri was gone and her children were grown. One of the benefits that had come from her divorce was that she could decorate the place however she liked, and that meant making it as open and accessible as she could.

"I just realized, how does she…" Galina gestured to her ear as she watched the girls settle themselves at the coffee table with their toys and coloring books.

Gloria waved away her concern. "What two-year-old actually pays attention to a movie?" she asked. "She'll be okay."

"Well, I mean when she gets older," Galina explained as she turned on the Toy Story movie. "How do deaf people go to the movies and stuff? I've never really thought about it before."

"They have these devices called captiviews," Gloria explained. "It basically gives the movies subtitles so they can read. I hear they're not always accurate to what is really being said, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"She can't lip read, can she?" Galina asked as she and Gloria took a seat on the sofa. "She seems to kind of understand what they were doing in the playroom."

"I don't think so," Gloria shook her head. "It's hard for me to tell, but I'm pretty sure she's completely deaf. Without context, I'm not sure how well she'd be able to follow along. We are going to start her in speech therapy soon, because her mom wants to see if it'll help, but it's hard to teach someone how to speak when they don't understand what the letters are supposed to sound like."

"Nicky used to be speech therapy too," Galina said quietly as the opening credits of the movie appeared. "She was a delayed talker, but now I can't get the girl to give me five minutes of peace. Bella seems to know a lot of words. I remember Lida trying to teach the kids baby sign language before they could talk but she never really stuck to it."

Gloria laughed softly. "Believe it or not, Bella is very talkative once she gets going. Being deaf isn't going to slow her down at all. One way or another, she'll find a way to get her point across."

"When did you realize that she couldn't hear?" Galina asked her. "You seem to sign really well. How long ago did you lean, or is anyone else in the family deaf?"

"When she was about eight months old, I guess," Gloria said as she squinted at her granddaughter. "It wasn't too long after she and her mom moved in with me that we got the diagnosis. I started to take night classes and then started to teach my sons. I also used to make them watch videos so that they could learn. My two daughters went to day class together, and my aunt hasn't taken any. She's learned from us the same way that Bella has."

Galina nodded her head in understanding, watching as Vera continued to communicate with Bella as best she could. They were coloring next to one another in the coloring book and it was unclear if Bella was understanding what Vera was trying to do or if she was simply satisfied with the fact she was being engaged at all. Whatever the case may be, Galina hoped that the little girl felt included. It wasn't ever fun to be different, and she knew better than anyone, how scary it could be, to navigate through a world you didn't understand.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so sorry for the delay in updating, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> I've had a lot happening in my real life and I have some very exciting news to share with y'all— I got accepted into Nursing School! Slow clap it out for me. I'm so excited to see what the next two years will bring and I look forward to keeping you all updated with my journey.
> 
> How about s7? What did ya think about it? Personally, I think it was one of the best seasons, even with all the crappy things happening to people. Like… way to go Gloria for going home. I wish her all the good things. Poor Red though, ugh, my heart and soul are broken for her, and poor Nicky too.

-05-

The sound of her morning alarm had Galina groaning into her pillow. She reached her hand out blindly for the offending device, and cracked her eyes open just enough so that she could turn it off. As silence engulfed the room, she let out a breath of relief and snuggled deeply against her pillow. Normally she greeted each day with a smile, but she'd been feeling a little under the weather, the last couple of days and all she craved was sleep.

She hadn't been getting enough of it lately and was truly starting to pay the price. Her entire body felt tender and achy; her face and chest felt heavy, the buildup of congestion threatening to suffocate her, and her throat was sore, making it painful to swallow.

Usually she was able to tough it out and get her work done regardless, even if it was just paperwork and inventory in the back office, but at Vasily's urging she'd taken the day off to rest. He and Lida had promised to open and run her store until the afternoon when Nicky could take over, which was just as well since it was their child who'd given her the cold to begin with.

Turning over in bed, her cellphone still in her hand, she was just on the cusp of sleep when she felt her phone vibrate. Turning the device over in her hand, she smiled at Gloria's name lighting up her screen.

Without giving it a second thought, she accepted the call and answered hoarsely, "Hello."

"Good morning, Lady,"

"Good morning to you," Galina replied, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "You sound cheerful for someone up before the sun."

"And you sound sick, what's up with that?"

"Yea," Galina nodded, struggling to sit up. Overcome with the sudden urge to cough, she pushed herself onto her elbows, the painful hacking radiating through her empty room and in Gloria's ear as she coughed uncontrollably onto the receiver of her phone.

"Oh," Gloria gasped, "Honey, you sound awful. Have you taken any medicine?

"I feel awful," Galina responded dryly. "I just woke up so I haven't taken anything yet, but I'm staying home from work today so that I can sleep in. I never do that, but I don't think I have a choice. I might even go to the doctor and get a steroid shot."

"Yea, I would if I were you," Gloria agreed. "I'm sorry to wake you up, and I hope you feel better. I was heading to work and thought you'd be at the store by now, so I stopped by for coffee and the lights weren't on. I got worried and just wanted to check on you."

"Well that's very sweet," Galina replied tiredly. Pulling her phone away from her ear to look a the time, she frowned and said, "I'm usually not at the store for another hour, it's only four-thirty. Are you feeling okay? It's not like you to be up so early."

"Couldn't sleep," Gloria answered simply. "Decided to go for a run before I went to work."

"You run when it's dark? Gloria," Galina chastised her, "That's not safe you know. Don't you watch the news? Some woman was killed jogging in the park a couple of months ago, you really shouldn't be doing that."

Gloria sighed loudly into the receiver. "I know, I know," she mocked her, "It's peaceful, and it gets my mind off of things. I haven't been sleeping well lately and didn't want to wake my kids up by pacing around the house."

"So you think it's better to act as bait for a psycho killer?" Galina questioned her. "You own a gym, why couldn't you just go there and work out? I'd hate to see your face all over the news. I kind of like having you around."

"Oh, yea?" Gloria purred.

"Yea," Galina said gently. She could hear Gloria's breath catch and the sound brought a smile to her face. They'd grown incredibly close since their initial meeting, talking and hanging out almost every day since. She'd gone to Bella's birthday party a few weeks ago, after Maxsim has canceled lunch plans with her, and she'd had a better time than she expected she would.

She remembered how busy she was throwing her own kids their birthday parties, and was worried that she and Lida be left to sit in a corner while Gloria busied herself to keep the party going, but had been quite surprised in how engaged and involved the family had made and her Lida feel.

The moment they'd arrived, they'd been welcomed with open arms. Reina, Bella's mother, had personally thanked them for coming, saying over and over again how much it meant to her that Vera and Koyla were so accepting of her daughter. Being as small as she was in addition to being deaf, Bella struggled to make friends. There weren't too many kids who gave her the time of day, and oftentimes the little girl left playgrounds and playdates feeling deflated.

It made Galina sad to hear. She knew what it was like to not be able to make friends easily, but she hadn't really noticed it about herself until she was much older. She could only imagine how isolating it would feel to feel different than everyone else at just three years old.

Selena, Gloria's youngest daughter, had been a pure delight. She resembled Gloria most of all, and had the loud personality to match. She'd talked easily with them, keeping up a steady conversation about anything that came to her mind.

Lourdes, Gloria's aunt, had immediately offered them a seat and a plate filled with food. While she usually wasn't a big fan of Spanish dishes, Galina had praised the older woman for how magnificent everything tasted and had even left with a couple of different recipes to try on her own. She now planned to make empanadas and sopapillas at her next family dinner, provided her children didn't make excuses to get out of it.

Julio and Benny, Gloria's sons, had interacted so beautifully with the children that it made her and Lida almost feel envious. It was very clear how much they loved their niece, and she told Gloria numerous times just how much she had enjoyed watching them. Her words held a lot of weight, and she could tell how touched Gloria had been to hear her praise.

Galina knew firsthand how difficult it was to raise sons. She hadn't had any real role models for them to mirror, her father had remained in Russia and she never would consider Dmitri prime parent material. Getting him to do anything was like pulling teeth and after so many years, she'd simply stopped asking.

From the moment she'd gotten pregnant, he had never had a real interest in their children, and once they'd finally entered the world, it'd killed her to see him so disconnected. She'd hoped that he would come around, but alas he never did. When her kids were little, they'd been so desperate for his attention, and he simply wouldn't give them the time of day. He had never been the type of guy who'd get down on the floor with their sons and play cars or indulge Nicky the few times she ever picked up a Barbie doll.

If she were honest with herself, he didn't become interested in their children until they were well into their teenage years. He had worked on old cars with them and taught them to drive, and as glad as she was that her children had done those things with him, she thought it was absurd that they'd had to wait until they were sixteen to be acknowledged.

It had been her hope that her children would look at her and her marriage and aspire to do the opposite of she and their father. She wanted her daughter to be with someone who loved and respected her, and while she believed Lorna loved Nicky very much, she wondered if she'd somehow broken her girl in another way. Nicky had no desire to be a mother and deep down inside that killed Galina, because she didn't know if it was how Nicky truly felt or if the fear of having to do it alone, the way that she'd been made to do it, scared her from even considering the possibility.

Maxsim was single still and seemed to be in no hurry to settle down either, and she didn't know if that was by choice or because he didn't want to end up like his brothers. Vasily was a good father and a decent husband, but she knew that child rearing was still largely Lida's responsibility. She was the one who ran their household and dictated what the children did, and as much as Galina respected that she wished her son was more hands on.

Lida wished that too and it was something they had stayed up late talking about when they'd left Gloria's home.

Galina hadn't purposely raised her kids with the belief that it was a woman's sole job to take care of the home and the family, but perhaps somewhere that was the message that she had sent. She'd allowed Dmitri to get away with so much for so long because she hadn't wanted to him to interfere with her routine. Even in the early, happy years, of their marriage he'd just had a way of sucking the life from her; stealing her joy in the things that were supposed to be fun and memorable. Forcing him to help had never worked out for her and it'd only created more work for herself.

Every time she tried to involve him, he'd just beat her down, mocking and criticizing her to the point she no longer had a desire to have him around. In protecting herself, she wondered if she'd sent a message to her sons that they too could do whatever they wanted in their marriages, even if it was at their wife's expense. She knew for a fact, that Yuri's unwillingness to help his wife was a large factor into the marital problems they were having, and she was heartbroken to admit that.

She'd worked so hard, some years even working two jobs when Dmitri would purposely lose his, so that she could give her children everything they needed and wanted, and for them to have even the slightest nerve to be disrespectful to their wives appalled her. During the hardest years she'd wanted so bad to leave but had never wanted to break up her family. She hadn't wanted to give up her kids every other weekend or holiday, and she hadn't wanted another woman moving in and trying to mother them. It would have killed her to witness such a sin, and she'd always justified staying to avoid such a thing.

When Dmitri had left her earlier this year, it felt as if the rug had been pulled from under her feet. For so long she had been trapped in this cage, held in place by marital chains, that him deciding to leave, when she was old and comfortable in the life, she'd made for herself, felt like nothing more than a cruel joke. It took her a long time to build herself up again, to convince herself she was worth more than what he gave her, and meeting Gloria when she did, felt as if she'd been saved by God himself.

"Well, I'm gonna let you sleep," Gloria said softly in her ear. "Maybe I can come by a little later and check on you, if you'd like?"

"I'm sure it's just a cold, Gloria, you don't have to do that."

"Do you like chicken tortilla soup?" Gloria asked, ignoring her. "I could make that, and we can watch tv or something. I can even make you a garlic drink that'll clear all the congestion from your chest."

"A garlic drink?" Galina questioned. "That doesn't even sound good."

"But you'll feel better," Gloria sang. "Think about it and I'll call you when I leave work."

"I guess you're not taking no for an answer then?" Galina smiled as she pulled her blanket up high around her shoulders.

"You would be right," Gloria laughed into the phone. "Get some sleep, okay? Hope you feel better. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Okay," Galina nodded against her pillow. "Have a good time in class." She could hear Gloria fumbling around on the other end of the receiver, cursing under her breath in Spanish before the line went dead. Laughing softly to herself, she typed out a quick message to Vasily, a reminder about what to do when he opened the store, before closing her eyes and drifting off once more into dreamland.

…

It was just half past noon when Galina woke up again, and though she didn't know how it was possible, she felt worse than she had that morning. Perhaps it was the fact that she hadn't eaten or taken any medicine, but she'd hoped that sleeping in would help. However, her head felt just as foggy as before, and her face felt even more swollen from the pressure and buildup of her congestion.

Rubbing her hand over her face and through her hair, she grimaced at how knotted and greasy her hair felt between her fingers. She needed a hot shower desperately. The steam and heat from the water would break up the congestion and bring her some relief, plus she wouldn't look like a total bum when Gloria arrived.

Exhaling a slow breath, she slowly pushed herself to get out of the king size bed that she'd bought after Dmitri had left. It had been an expensive purchase, but well worth the money. Not only could she sleep like starfish bathing in the sun, but it was a godsend for her back, which wasn't the same as it had once been. Briefly, the thought crossed her mind to ask Gloria to lounge with her in the bedroom, but no sooner as she thought it, did she dismiss it. She'd take whatever discomfort her sofa brought to her before she made things weird between them.

She could only imagine the horror that Gloria would feel at the mere thought, or suggestion, of them in bed together.

Speaking of the devil, she thought, seeing a text message from Gloria.

"You might be asleep, but I'm heading your way. I'll call you when I'm at the door."

Sliding her finger across her screen, she eagerly sent a reply. "Just woke up, I'm gonna take a shower. I'll unlock the door, so you can let yourself in."

"Sounds good," Gloria text back.

Quickly doing as she promised, Galina returned to her bedroom to select a clean set of pajamas and the towel that she'd used yesterday morning. Tucking them under her arm, she made her way into the master bathroom, and quickly stripped down, leaving her clothes in a heap on the floor.

Standing beneath the showerhead, she murmured a song of appreciation as the water rained down on her. The pressure felt heavenly on her body, her muscles feeling more alive and relaxed than they had in days. God, how there was nothing she wouldn't give for a massage right about now. She didn't think she had ever treated herself to one before and she made a mental note to ask Nicky to go with her once she was feeling better.

Grabbing the loofa, she squeezed some body wash onto it before running it across her skin. The steam and heat were working to break up the congestion in her chest and for the first time in many hours it felt as if everything was working as it should. Turning in the water to rinse the suds from her body, she then grabbed the shampoo and lathered it into her hair. Massaging her scalp, she couldn't help but moan softly, her eyes fluttering closed as she relaxed into the sensation.

Just as she tipped her head back to wash the shampoo from her hair, there was a gentle knock on her bathroom door. She hardly had any time to acknowledge it before she heard the doorknob turning.

"Hey, Galina," it was Gloria.

Pulling the shower curtain back just enough to see Gloria peeking around the door, Galina smiled at her softly. "Hey," she whispered hoarsely, "I'll be out in a minute."

"No problem, just wanted to tell you I was here," Gloria explained. "I'm going to start lunch, alright?"

Galina nodded and released the curtain. "Sounds good," she said, squeezing some conditioner into the palm of her hand and massaging it into her scalp. "Pots and pans are in the bottom cupboard next to the stove."

"Great," Gloria responded, gently closing the bathroom door.

Lathering the thick cream into her hair, Galina let it set for a few minutes while she washed her face with a deep cleansing, apricot scrub. Finally, after she repeated the same actions that she'd done when washing out her shampoo, Galina shut off the water and wrapped herself up in the white, thick towel she'd hung over the shower rod. Quickly drying herself off, she stepped out of the tub and onto the warm mat. Using the same towel that she'd dried off with, she wrapped her hair tightly before dressing into the light blue pajamas that Nicky had given her for Christmas. She didn't feel particularly inclined to make an impression today and knew that Gloria wouldn't care. Most days the younger woman stayed in her gym wear, leaving Galina feeling completely overdressed.

Reaching into the drawer where she kept her moisturizer, she squirted a little on her hands before massaging it into her face. As comfortable as she always felt in Gloria's presence, when she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but feel incredibly self-conscious. Gloria had never seen her without makeup before, and Galina couldn't help but feel like she needed it.

Gloria was such a beautiful woman both with and without make up that Galina felt so plain next to her. No matter what she did or didn't do it, weather she over analyzed or not, there was just no way that she could escape the obvious age difference between them. Rubbing her hands together to dissolve what was left of her moisturizer, she then opened the bathroom door and turned off the light behind her before making her way across the house into the kitchen.

You could have at least put on a bra, she thought, feeling her breasts jiggle with her movements.

"Hey, you," Gloria's voice interrupted her thoughts. "How are you feeling? You sounded like you were losing your voice."

"Yea," Galina nodded her head, crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously. "I feel like crap." At the feel of mucus threatening to drain from her nose, she sniffled loudly.

"Well, my soup will make you feel better," Gloria said confidently, pulling apart the rotisserie chicken that she'd picked up from the store. "My mama used to make this for me when I was sick, and it's made all of my kids feel better when they were sick too."

"Can't wait to try it," Galina whispered, "I hope it lives up to the food from the party."

"Oh, speaking of, Lourdes was so happy that you liked her food. I don't know if I told you how happy that made her or not, but she's been going on for weeks about how much you liked her cooking and how you wanted her recipes. You've made her feel like quite the celebrity."

"I'm glad to have made her so happy. She didn't need my praise though."

Wiping her hands off on a dish towel, Gloria turned to grab another grocery bag off the counter. "Here you are," she said, depositing it in front of Galina. "I brought you tissues and some vicks vapor rub, and some cough drops."

"Ohh," Galina smiled at her, "and you even got the tissues with lotion?"

"Well, of course I did, I'm not an animal. No one wants to wipe their nose with tissue that feels like sandpaper."

"I used to get the cheap kind for my husband," Galina admitted. "I don't know why I did that though, at first I thought it was funny, but then I realized that it just gave him something else to complain about."

Taking a seat across from Gloria at the island, Galina folded her arms and watched as she methodically went about her cooking. It was rare to just sit back and let someone else takeover the kitchen, and for once she wasn't complaining about it.

"You don't have to sit here and watch me you know," Gloria told her as she stirred the pot she had simmering on the stove. "Relax on the couch, take a nap. I'll wake you when this is ready."

"I've been asleep all day," Galina shrugged. "Besides, I want to know how work was this morning. Why were you up so early?"

"I just couldn't sleep," Gloria shrugged, "but work was okay, I had classes all morning and then Selena came in to take over the rest of the afternoon. I'm supposed to have class tonight, but I don't think I'm going to go. I did something to my ankle when I was running, and I could feel the tendons flaring up again when I was dancing."

"You have your pole dancing class tonight?" Galina asked, blowing her nose into a tissue.

"Supposed to," Galina smirked. "Are you ever going to come with me?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not? I bet you'd look hot," Gloria wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Besides, dancing makes everyone feel sexy."

"Dancing makes me feel like I have two left feet, and I bet I'd break my hip trying to swing around a pole. I've seen the videos you sent me, what does your aunt think about you dancing that way?"

"Well she hates it, of course." Gloria turned the fire off under the soup and asked, "Where are the bowls?"

"That cabinet there," Galina jetted her head, "and the silverware is in that drawer," she pointed.

Gloria plated them each a bowl, adding avocado and sour cream into their soup. "I hope you like this, Galina."

"I'm sure I will," Galina mumbled distractedly. Reaching for another tissue she sneezed into it one, two, three times before a following it up with a round of loud, painful cough.

"Poor girl," Gloria cooed, "Have you taken any medicine?"

"No," Galina shook her head.

"I'll make you that garlic drink when we're done eating," Gloria said picking up the bowls. "Do you have any medicine here, I can run out and get you something?"

"I have something," Galina shrugged her off. "I'll get it in a few minutes. Do you want to eat in the living room?"

"Sure," Gloria nodded. She watched as Galina pulled the towel from her head and draped it over the back of her chair. Her red hair fell around her shoulders, and she couldn't help but notice the kink that made it curl at the ends. Taking a seat on the sofa next to her, she set the bowls down on the coffee table and reached for the fleece blanket that Galina kept on the back of the sofa.

"What do you like to watch?" Gloria asked, unfolding the blanket and draping it over the both of them before handing Galina her bowl.

"It doesn't matter."

"Everybody Loves Raymond?" Gloria suggested, surfing through the channels.

"Never heard of it," Galina shrugged. She brought a spoonful of soup to her lips and blew gently before swallowing. "Not bad," she said taking another bite. "This is really good."

"Thanks," Gloria took a quick bite and then set the bowl down in front of her. "I forgot drinks, do you want a water or soda?" she asked, making her way into the kitchen.

"I'll take water, thanks. I don't drink soda."

Returning a few seconds later with their drinks, and the grocery bag containing the tissues and Vicks rub, Gloria set them on the coffee table and relaxed into her seat once more. It felt so comfortable to be so close to one another, and she loved the nasally way that Galina laughed at that characters on the screen.

"They all kind of remind me of my family," Galina chuckled, unscrewing the lid of her water bottle.

"It's so funny that you say, because this character here," she pointed at the tv with her spoon, "her name is Marie, and the other night when I was watching this with Benny, he said she reminded him of you. Now I can't unsee it."

"Is that her husband?" Galina jetted her head at the television. "Because if it is, he already looks annoyed with her."

"Yea, Frank is always annoyed with her."

"Wow, Gloria," Galina smirked, "I hope this isn't your son's idea of a compliment." Finishing the last of her soup, she leaned forward to put her bowl on the coffee table.

"Do you want more?" Gloria asked gently, placing her own bowl down.

Galina shook her head no and adjusted herself on the sofa so that she could stretch out. Her feet in Gloria's lap, beneath the blanket, she tucked a pillow behind her head and smiled at Gloria innocently.

"Ohh, Galina," Gloria chuckled, squeezing her feet tightly. "You're just making yourself comfortable, aren't you?"

"Well," Galina batted her eyelashes. "It is my house, and my couch, and you are my friend, so…" she wiggled her toes once more, "I was just thinking you should give me a foot massage"

Shaking her head in amusement, Gloria leaned forward for the bag on the coffee table. She pulled out the Vicks vapor rub and then settled back against the cushions. Reaching beneath the blanket, she pulled off Galina's socks and took a small scoop of the vapor rub onto her fingers. Sliding the sticky substance along the sole of Galina's feet, she took her time rubbing it into her skin.

"I was just kidding," Galina laughed, her feet twitching in Gloria's hands.

"If I was sick, I'd want you to give me a foot massage," Gloria said, arching her brow. "I'm considering this an investment. Besides, you put this on your feet and then put your socks back on, take a nap and you're sure to feel a lot better when you wake up."

"Ah," Galina sighed, smiling at her sleepily. "I have to admit this does feel pretty good. I was just thinking earlier about asking Nicky to get a massage with me once I was feeling better. Do you know any good places to go?"

Gloria nodded, pressing her thumbs into Galina's foot. "I usually go to this Thai place around the corner from my old apartment," she said.

"Are they good?""

"So good," Gloria purred. "I usually get a Swedish massage and mmm, I swear I could have an orgasm on the spot, it feels so good."

"Gloria!" Galina exclaimed, her face heating up. "The things you say sometimes. You're worse than Nicky, you know that?"

"Ah-"

"Galya?"

At the sound of her name, Galina shot straight up in her seat. Only one person has ever called her that, and unless she was losing her mind, that person was now in her home. She could feel the hairs standing up on the back of her neck and her eyes widened in astonishment.

"Dmitri?" she questioned breathlessly, rising to her feet, "Wh- What are you doing here?" she asked.

"The door was unlocked," he answered.

She crossed her arms over her chest, all senses of joy and relaxation that she'd been feeling moments ago draining from her body. "That's not what I asked you."

"Calm down, I-"

"Calm down?" she repeated, interrupting them. "I haven't seen you in months, then today you just barge into my home, with no warning whatsoever. How do you expect me to be calm?"

"I'm only here to pick some of my things up from the basement, and I'll be out of your hair," he told her. "No need to make this a bigger deal then it needs to be."

"Whose else's hair would you be out of?" she asked bitterly. "You don't have much of your own to spare these days."

"Oh, you're one to talk, you look like death rolled over."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Galina shook her head in annoyance. "Just get whatever you need and get out." Dismissing him with a wave of her hand she fell back onto the sofa next to Gloria.

"Who's your friend?" he asked her, walking around the sofa to get a look at Gloria.

Turning her head, Gloria smiled uncomfortably. She'd never seen Galina's ex-husband before and hadn't quite known what to expect, but he looked nothing like what she'd imagined him to. Their children were so beautiful, as was Galina, that it was almost hard to picture her being married the gnome like greaseball standing before her now.

"My name's Gl-"

"None of your business who she is," Galina hissed, interrupting Gloria. "Please, just get whatever you need and get out, before you scare her off." She kept her eyes glued to him, daring him to cross her. Dmitri walked out of the room without a word and she waited until she heard his footsteps disappear before turning her attention to Gloria once more.

"I'm sorry about that," she whispered.

"Don't be," Gloria waved away her apology. "I have my own ex's, I know how it can be."

"I haven't seen him in months," Galina whispered to her. "I don't even know what he could possibly need. When he left me, he took everything with him." She chewed on her lip nervously. "Then he just walks in here and insults me, I mean-" she stopped herself, covering her face with her hand. "I'm sorry."

Gloria reached for her hand and slowly brought it down from her face. "Don't be sorry," she whispered. "You got in some pretty good insults of your own," she squeezed her hand reassuringly. "And for what it's worth, Galina, even though you're sick… I think you look beautiful."


	6. Chapter 6

-06-

Her store was empty, the food had already been put away and prepared for the next day, and as soon as she was done wiping down the counters and tables, Galina would be ready to lock up and call it a night. It'd been an incredibly busy day and her feet hurt from being on them for so long. It normally wasn't a problem for her to work so many hours single handedly, but today simply felt too long.

The last couple of weeks she'd been relying heavily on her children's help to run things so that she could take some time for herself, but it seemed to be backfiring on her. She thought that rest and finding hobbies outside of work was supposed to be a good thing, but all it seemed to do was make every minute she spent at work feel miserable and never ending, and she'd never once felt that way before.

There had been a time when she had used to love coming to work, and could have easily stayed in her restaurant for hours without complaint. When her kids had been growing up, she used to have them help her cook and clean, and they'd enjoyed being so hands on and underfoot, but now they made her feel like it was such a chore to help her. She hated to admit it, but she wasn't as young as she used to be and it was getting harder and harder to manage the paperwork, the inventory, and generally run in the place from open to close all by herself.

Now that she and Dmitri were divorced, he took no interest in the business, which she was very grateful for. Since she had been the one to single-handedly build the place up into what it was, it would have been cruel to lose it, or have to fight with him in the courtroom for the right to keep it. However, with him gone and her children all grown up, she was left to handle things on her own and she'd underestimated how difficult such a task would be.

Her children were adults now and they had lives and passions of their own to pursue, and while she deeply respected that, it made her feel very alone, and not just in the prospect of running her store, but in life in general. She worked alone, she usually ate a lone, and at night she went home to an empty house that was much too big for herself.

She had never thought she'd find herself in such a predicament and it sucked. It was one thing for her husband to leave her, but she'd never imagined that her children would one day divorce her too. Sure they'd visit or help her with the store when she asked, but they almost never did so unless she was the one to call them and make the arrangements.

Maxsim, for example, had canceled their prearranged plans, which had been rescheduled for tonight, for the third time since they'd talked in her office weeks ago. There was still tension between he and his siblings that she didn't quite understand, however, it was a conversation that she wanted to have with him in person and not through text messages or over the phone. Not that he answered her texts or returned her phone calls much these days anyway.

She'd called Yuri shortly after Maxsim had canceled on her, and he'd hurried her off the phone almost as soon as he'd answered. She could hear the TV playing in the background and didn't understand what the rush was.

"Well hold on," Galina pleaded, trying to ignore the frustration in her son's voice. "How are the kids, can I talk to them for a moment?"

"The kids are fine," Yuri told her. "I'll have Levi and Arina call you when they get home."

"Home?" She frowned, turning her wrist to look at her watch. "Where are they?"

"Arina had a dance recital tonight."

It felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach, and for a moment she was speechless. "Dance?" she questioned, the word feeling painful and bitter on her tongue. "I didn't even know she was in dance. Why didn't you tell me she was dancing?"

Yuri sighed. "I did, Ma, maybe you just forgot."

"How could I forget something you never told me?" she asked. "You never even bring the kids around. It's a miracle you even answered my call. You're as bad as Maxsim that way, you know."

"Please don't compare me to him."

Galina ignored him. "How come you didn't tell me she had a dance recital tonight, Yuri? You know I would have loved to see her."

"It's not that big a deal," he said.

"It's a very big deal," Galina corrected him. "And why are you at home instead of watching her?"

"As I said, Ma, it's not a big deal. It's just at some community theatre, it's not like she's performing on Broadway or anything." Yuri sighed. "Look Ma, I got to go. I'll have the kids call you when they get home."

The line disconnected and Galina pulled it away from her ear with a frown. No "I love you," or "Have a good night," or "how was your day?", he just hung up on her. Continuing to stare down at her phone and the little notification that told her the call had only lasted 15 seconds, she couldn't help but feel deeply hurt.

Where have I gone wrong with that kid, she wondered.

As scarce as visits were when Yuri did decide to visit her, he usually came alone. He'd never offered up any details about his wife or her grandchildren, or an excuse for their absence, only complaints. He'd talked about how hard he worked and how unappreciated he felt by his wife. She knew her son was a hard worker, as she'd raised him to be one, and since Galina had never particularly cared for his wife, it had been easy to side with her son and offer him sympathy.

She'd always got the impression that his wife, Anna, thought she was too good for their family. She came from a high-class status and from the first moment they'd met, Galina had always felt slightly uncomfortably in her presence. She and Dmitri had created a home of humble beginnings and it was hard to not feel threatened by the nice clothes and expensive jewelry that Anna wore. Despite her personal feelings, however, Galina had always gone out of her way to be respectful to Anna. After all, she was the mother of her grandchildren, and it was important to her that they maintain a sense of cordialness for their sake.

Rinsing and wringing out the damp rag that she'd been using to wipe down her counters, Galina hung it over the kitchen faucet to dry. Untying the red apron around her waist, she hung it up on a hook and made her way to her office to grab her cellphone and her purse. She sighed sadly at the lack of notifications on her screen.

Not even Gloria had messaged her in the last several hours and that depressed her more than it should have. They usually spent all day talking back and forth, only stopping when one or the other finally fell asleep. She debated sending her a message, even going so far as typing out, "Hey, what are you…" before thinking better of it and deleting it. Gloria had told her the night before that she had plans with her daughter's after work and she didn't want to impose on that.

She grabbed her keys out of her purse and made her way toward the door. Making sure all of the lights were turned off on her way out. She stopped at the door just long enough to set the security code into the system, and then stepping out onto the sidewalk, she locked the door securely behind her. It was only seven-thirty, and the sun was just beginning to set. The hues of pink and purple looked beautiful in the distance and it made her wish that she had someone to sit out on the back porch and watch it with her.

Sighing, she turned in the direction toward her home and started made the familiar walk that she made each day. She'd only made it up the street when her cell phone began to ring, and she stepped off to the side, to allow the people behind her to pass as she dug through her purse to retrieve the device.

"Gloria?" she spoke her friends name as she answered her phone. "Hello?"

"Galina! Hi," Gloria was laughing happily on the other end of the line. "Hey, I know it's last minute, but are you busy?"

"Umm, no," Galina spoke awkwardly.

"Do you want to come out to dinner with me and my girls?"

The invitation brought an immediate smile to her face. "I'm just now leaving work," she told her.

"So are we," Gloria said. "My aunt just came to pick up Bella, so we're walking out now. Selena was thinking margaritas."

"I don't want to impose on your night," Galina told her, beginning once more to walk in the direction of her home.

"You're not imposing if I invite you. I promise."

"Well, I am kind of hungry," Galina said to herself, weighing her options. "But I'm not really dressed to go out and it's been a long day."

"I feel like you don't know me at all," Gloria sighed. "We just finished working out. We're in leggings and tennis shoes and Reina looks like she hasn't brushed her hair in days."

"Hey!"

Galina chuckled softly as she heard Gloria's daughter protest her mother's remark. "Where are you going? Maybe I'll meet you."

"We were thinking this little cantina restaurant," Gloria told her. "You've probably seen it. It's not too far from your store. I'll send you the address. I really want to see you, so I hope you come."

"Really?"

"Yes. Why are you always so shocked that I like spending time with you?"

Galina heard her phone ding and she pulled it away from her ear to see a message from Gloria with the directions to the restaurant. It was only a 10-minute walk from where she was currently and except for one turn, it was a straight shot.

She brought her phone back to her ear. "I don't know," she murmured. "I can't imagine that you have that much fun with me. I don't really think I'm that great to be around.

"If I didn't like you, I wouldn't hang out with you," Gloria corrected her. "I definitely wouldn't spend all day talking to you."

"Oh, I know," Reina could be heard complaining in the background. "She never puts her phone down. It's so annoying."

"Reina be quiet,"

Gloria shushed her daughter. She exhaled a deep breath. "Today was so long, but also kind of fun. I got Bella to dance with me and she was doing so good. I'll show you the video when I see you, but I'm just so proud of her.""Sounds very adorable," Galina agreed. "I can't wait to see it. She is a very cute little girl."

"You don't sound yourself, Galina."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You just sound sad. Is everything okay?"

Galina sighed. "I'm alright," she reassured her. "Kind of. I don't know. Today was long for me too. I'm glad you called, Gloria. I didn't want to go home and sit around in my empty house. I was supposed to have plans with Maxsim tonight but he canceled and then I called Yuri tonight. It didn't really go well, but it didn't exactly go awful. Anyway, now I just kind of feel… blah."

Galina could hear Gloria's daughter in the background. "What's she saying?"

"That she's upset,"

Gloria told her daughter distractedly. There was some rustling over the phone the phone a few seconds later another voice began to speak.

"Galina, hey, it's Reina," Gloria's daughter said. "If you're sad then you should definitely come out with us. I'll buy you a margarita!" she sang.

"Are you sure?" Galina asked her. "I don't want to interrupt your time with your mother."

"Please," Reina sighed. "I'm with my mother constantly. If I had any friends of my own, I wouldn't be going out with her tonight."

"Don't say that," Galina chidded her gently. "Your mother is wonderful?"

"Igh, she's alright," Reina joked, breaking into a fit of laughter. Galina smiled too, imagining the glare Gloria was giving the girl. "Alright, so we'll see you there? I'm going to get us a table on the patio. Is that okay?"

"Sure," Galina relented. "I'm on my way."

…

Walking into the restaurant, Galina scanned the crowd for any sign of Gloria and her girls. She found them not on the patio, but in a little booth tucked away in the corner and she bawled her hand up nervously into a fist as she approached the table. In the center, they had chips, queso, guacamole and salsa, and glasses of water.

"Hey!" Gloria was the first one to greet her, oblivious to how nervous she seemed. "I ordered you a strawberry margarita, I hope that's okay. It should be out in a minute."

"That's fine," Galina took a seat next to her in the booth and smiled at the girls across from her.

"Seriously, Galina," Selena was the first to address her. She was Gloria's youngest daughter and the one who looked the most like her. She had been the one to keep up a steady flow of conversation at Bella's birthday party and Galina had found her very enjoyable to talk to.

"Mami said you were worried that you weren't dressed up enough," Reina explained at the confusion on Galina's face. She scooped a chip full of hot sauce into her mouth and crunched on it loudly. "You look great though. I don't know why you were freaking out." Reina had some of the same features as her mother, but Galina thought she resembled Lourdes more than she did Gloria.

Galina scoffed and pushed her hair back self-consciously. "I've been cooking all day and I probably smell like onions."

"You be quiet," Gloria shook her head as she squeezed her lemon into her water. "You always look great."

"Well, we're glad you came anyway," Reina told her honestly. "We probably smell like sweat so it's all good. I came here to get my drink on. I'm not worried about what anyone else thinks."

The waiter chose that moment to appear with their drinks, setting it down in front of them. "Is there anything else I can get you?" the young lady had asked them as she tucked her serving tray under her arm.

"Do you want to share quesadillas with me?" Gloria asked her quietly as her daughters put in their order.

"Sure," Galina shrugged. Gloria ordered them a meal to share and then turned her attention back to her girls. She was sitting so close to Galina that their thighs were touching, and neither seemed to have any intention of moving as the four of them easily fell into conversation.

Selena talked for a while about the kid in her class who threw a glue stick at her and how disappointed she was in parents who didn't discipline their kids. "I mean it's ridiculous," she vented. "It's not fair that teachers have to suffer during the school day because of parents who failed to do their job and raise their children to respect adults." She was a third grade teacher at the elementary school that Koyla went to, and her husband, Noah, taught sixth grade for the same school.

"Right," Reina agreed, "I mean I used to get hit just for looking at Mami with an attitude." She stirred her straw around her drink. "God forbid anyone yells at kids these days. It's so ridiculous, parents are concerned about hurting feelings and being their kids best friends more than they are about raising successful human beings."

"I did not hit you for looking at me with an attitude," Gloria corrected her daughter.

"Mami, that's bs and you know it," Reina scoffed.

Gloria sighed and took a long sip from her drink. Looking at Galina she shook her head no. "I never hit them for looking at me with an attitude," she promised.

Galina chuckled. "Don't defend yourself to me," she told her. "I used to hit my kids, too. There's nothing wrong with it as long as you aren't beating the crap out of them, and the kid knows what they're being hit for. Sometimes saying no isn't enough, and you can only tell them so many times before you realize that saying no isn't going to work. I was spanked by my mother and I turned out alright."

"Thank you," Selena told her. "Today we had a staff meeting during our conference periods about safe-spaces. Like seriously? Fuck your safe-space. If parents taught their kids not to be assholes, we wouldn't have these issues."

"I can tell you feel very strongly about it," Galina observed with a smile.

"It's fucking irritating," Selena breathed, leaning back in her botth. "Everyone today is a bunch of sensitive ass…" she struggled to come up with a word. "Vaginas."

Gloria rolled her eyes and Galina laughed loudly. She hadn't met this vocal women at the party, but she was enjoying listening to Selena vent. If she'd gone to college, Galina had always imagined she would be a teacher and she presumed that she too would feel strongly about the home training, or lack thereof, that she could have encountered from students.

"I've never hit Bella," Reina admitted. "Timeouts usual work pretty well, and since she's deaf yelling doesn't do anything. Usually, I'll just take toys and privileges away, but she's always been a pretty good girl."

"She is an angel," Gloria defended her granddaughter. "Even her tantrums are adorable. I love her sass, I love her drama. I love all of it."

Reina rolled her eyes. "You're the one that's going to turn her into a monster," she complained. "You saw my mother at the party, Galina, what did you think? She doesn't ever discipline Bella, but she had no problem disciplining us or our brothers."

"How could I discipline her?" Gloria asked, her hand over her heart. "I could never get onto that sweet baby. She would be so upset with me and I wouldn't be able to bear it."

Galina shook her head in amusement and took a long sip of her margarita. Gloria was the grandmother every child dreamed of, however, she very easily was the grandmother every parent feared. Rules, restrictions, bedtimes––what were those? Gloria didn't know. They weren't in her vocabulary when it came to her granddaughter.

"All jokes aside, Bella is pretty good," Selena defended her niece. "And I'm not saying children aren't allowed their moments to freak out. I think we all should be given time to freak out and vent, or have a meltdown, but when it's every day? When your child is throwing things at their teacher and bullying other kids? Like, I'm sorry, but what are you doing at home, as a parent, that they think this behavior is okay? I just don't understand."

She exhaled a breath and took a drink from her margarita. "Sometimes there are real issues going on in the home, and I try to be sensitive to that, but other times kids are just being jerks because they aren't being disciplined and that is something I am just not okay with."

"You guys had a pretty crazy childhood," Gloria said thoughtfully. "I did the best I could, but sometimes my best wasn't always the right thing to do, and you suffered because of it."

"Yea, but you weren't getting calls about our behavior," Reina consoled her mother. "Because we knew what would happen if you had to leave work to come handle us. I think all of our issues came to the surface when we were teenagers, though."

The young server who'd brought them their drinks was standing before them now with their food. She sat down a plate of quesadillas in front of Gloria and Galina, and then put down another plate in front of Selena, and then a plate of enchiladas in front of Reina.

"You were a wild child?" Galina asked curiously as she separated her food from Gloria's.

Gloria shook her head no as she dipped one of her quesadillas into some sourcream. "She wasn't wild, just angry."

Reina nodded her head in agreeance, cutting her food into bite size pieces. "We're a lot older than our brothers, and like my mom said she didn't always make the best choices. I was just angry about a lot of things that she did and said, and I would go back and forth between her and my grandma, my dad's mom, and everything my mom did just frustrated me."

"She moved out when she was eighteen and I don't think we talked for two… maybe three years?" Gloria said, trying to calculate the math in her head. "I'm not sure exactly, but it was a while. We finally reconnected around the time she started to date Bella's dad."

"Wow," Galina licked her lips and reached for her glass of water. "I never realized you had an estrangement. You all seem so close."

"I told you," Gloria shrugged. "My family isn't perfect, Galina. I know a little about what you're going through and how much it sucks."

"That's right," Selena took a bit of her food. "Mama said that you're recently divorced. How many years were you married?"

"Forty," Galina said bitterly as she scooped some guacamole onto her quesadilla before bringing it to her lips. "I'm still trying to find a new normal, but it's complicated. I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me. My family has always been really close, but it's like pulling teeth to get my kid's together for dinner, or to make plans that they actually follow through with."

"Strange, but I guess it happens," Reina said. She reached for her water and took a large gulp. "Are they close to their dad?"

"Hard to say," Galina told her honestly. "Dmitri was never very hands on with the kids, but he is still their father. They always felt like my children more than his, and they definitely haven't been his biggest fans since the divorce. My son Maxsim has, for some strange reason, but I don't really know what that's about. No one will tell me what's going on. It's like a switch has flipped, and I'm in the dark, trying to find the light to escape."

Selena wiped her mouth with a napkin and scooped up some of her rice with a chip. "Can I ask why you got divorced?"

"He was having an affair," Galina answered truthfully, ignoring the stabbing pain in her heart that her words caused. Over the years Dmitri had given her many reasons to complain about their union, and as unhappy as she had been at times she would have never, ever done to him what he so easily had done to her.

When you marry someone, you made vows to love them through thick and thin, no matter what. She and Dmitri had been through thick, and they'd been through thin, more times than she could count, and as much as she had wanted to leave over the years, she's stayed. She'd done the right thing and in her own way she had grown to love him. She'd made their life work for her, and had built them into something she was proud of. How he could have left her for someone else, baffled her. She didn't understand what she had ever done to him to deserve that?

Galina sighed and continued, "He called one morning when I was at work, and we usually worked together because my business was our business. On this particular day, he hadn't come in with me, he said he had errands to run and that he'd be in later. I didn't think anything of it, and had gone about my routine as normal."

She reached for her margarita and took a long drink, ignoring the brain freeze that she instantly felt. Telling this story irritated her beyond anything, but it also validated her anger. "So, I'm in the middle of breakfast rush and he calls me and I don't answer, and the day was so busy I hadn't even noticed how late it had gotten. Finally, I get a break and I check my phone and I notice the time, I see the missed call and I realize he never made it into work. So, of course, I start to get worried." She took another long drink and then licked her lips. "So, I listen to the voicemail and in 15 seconds he manages to tell me how he wasn't happy being married to me anymore, and that he was moving out that afternoon, how he met someone else and that I just needed to sign the divorce papers and not make it more difficult than it needed to be."

"That is so fucked up!" Reina hissed in disgust.

Selena shook her head. "If my husband ever did that to me..." she trailed off and started to pop her fingers for dramatic effect.

"So, obviously, I start to lose my mind," Galina explained, popping her own fingers, and just as she was about to say more she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. "Oh," she said retrieving it. "Sorry, give me a second." Squinting at Yuri's name on her screen, she slid her thumb across the screen and was instantly greeted with text messages from her son.

It's a picture of her granddaughter, Arina, in her dance costume. Her hair is curled and pinned up and she's dressed in a beautiful white number with sparkles on it. She looks so big and so grown, every bit the ten-year-old that Galina had known she was but was in denial to accept. She had a small bouquet of pink roses in her hand, and Galina assumed that they were something Anna bought her as Yuri didn't seem to care if he missed her recital or not.

Another message comes through, a picture of her grandchildren together. They're twins, born only minutes apart, but Arina towers slightly over her brother, Levi, who looks like a nerdy little thing the way Maxsim always had.

A third message comes through: Here's your pics. Happy?

Reading his word fumed Galina with a fury that was as foreign as it was familiar. There was a very large part of her that wanted to scream out in frustration, and had she not reminded herself that she was in public she would have. He sounds so much like Dmitri it makes her want to choke him. Composing herself, she types, "She looks beautiful. They're getting so big." She hits the lock button on her before quickly shoving it back into her pocket.

"Are you okay, Galina?" Gloria asked cautiously, instantly sensing her friend's anger and annoyance.

Picking up her margarita, Galina downs what was left in the glass. "Gloria," she whispered her name. "I have a question for you. Does your son ever just make you want to kick him to death? Because mine is really tempting me."

"Oh," Reina said, raising her hand up to get their servers attention as she came by. "We're gonna need another round of drinks. It's going to be a long night."


	7. Chapter 7

-07-

One too many strawberry margaritas later, Galina was feeling good and free, and so it was no surprise that the evening had gotten away from her. It also didn't hurt that Gloria's daughters were as wonderful and compassionate as their mother, making it incredibly easy for her to open up and vent about all that she'd been dealing with not just for the last several months, but for the last forty years.

Getting her problems off her chest felt as if a major weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and she didn't feel the least bit guilty about that way that she had unloaded it. There was never anyone around for her to speak so freely with, and it was incredibly cathartic to do so and not face judgment for the things she said, or for the way she felt.

Speaking Dmitri's name and of the way he often treated her brought tears to her eyes and she didn't bother to hide them as they glided down her cheeks. "I tried to be a good wife to him," she explained. "I really did. I didn't even like the guy much when I married him, but after I got pregnant with Yuri I didn't have a choice. We were going to have a baby and I couldn't just leave. There was no way that I'd be able to navigate this country on my own and be the type of mother that I wanted to be. It would have been too much change too fast."

Selena frowned, and lazily tried to catch her pink swirly straw with her lips. "You didn't like the guy when you married him?" she asked. "Then why the hell would you marry him?"

"I wanted to leave Russia," Galina told her, the skin around her eyes felt irritated and swollen from her crying. "Marriage was the simplest way to do so, and we were supposed to split up once we got here, but then I found out I was pregnant."

"So, you obviously like him enough to sleep with him," Gloria stated, twirling her straw in her otherwise melted margarita. "And to keep sleeping with him. You had four children."

"We were already married, and I was already pregnant. It would have been pointless to leave. What else was I going to do?" she asked. "I wanted children. I wanted a family. I couldn't just leave after I had Yuri, there was no way my in-laws would have let that happen and I didn't have the knowledge or resources on how to go about separating myself from the situation. Besides, after a while, I had just gotten used to the way things were. Had he not left I would have been content to spend the rest of my life at his side."

"Fuck that," Gloria scoffed, shaking her head. "Seriously? You would have been content to stay there forever?"

"Forty years later and I'm only here because he left," Galina reminded her.

Gloria shook her head no in protest. "Fuck that," she repeated. "I stayed with their dad for eights years, and that was eight years too many. I never should have given that man the time of day, and the only good thing he ever did for me was knock me up."

Reina licked her lips. "In case you can't tell, Galina, she doesn't like our dad either."

"She's the one who picked him," Selena hiccuped. "I wouldn't have picked that S.O.B either. In my opinion, she should have left a lot sooner," she looked at her sister, "and you should have left Bella's dad a lot sooner."

"I should have never gotten involved with him," Reina agreed. "I was with him for almost ten years before we had Bella. I met him not too long after I graduated high school, and like a year or two into our relationship it started to get really bad, which is why Mami and I have a relationship again."

"I told her to move home" Gloria sang. "When I got the call from her to pick her up, she was crying hysterically about how sorry she was and that she wanted to come home, and I told her it was okay and that it didn't matter. That she could come home anytime and didn't have to ask for permission to do that. I would never turn my babies away. She was going to move home and enroll in college. Then, that little fucker got into her head and for the next couple of years she played this back and forth game between coming home and going back to him."

"Finally, I got pregnant with Bella and a couple of months after she was born I just couldn't take it anymore," Reina shook her head. "I told mama to pick me up and I promised her I would stay home and she was at my apartment less than twenty minutes later, helping me pack everything into the car while he cussed us out the whole time."

"Does Bella see him?" Galina asked curiously.

"Hell no," Selena said protectively. "And not because we keep her from him, but because he's a deadbeat."

Reina sighed, scraping a frustrated hand through her hair. She turned her head, looking embarrassed at how suddenly it was her daughter's story that was being shared. Even in the worst of situations, no one had children with the intention of bringing them into a broken home. You always hope against all odds that things will be different for you and that you will be able to give your child the childhood you never had, but life sometimes had a funny way of punching you in the face and then laughing about it.

"It sucks," Reina said finally, turning her head back to look at Galina. "He doesn't pay child support, so I'm forced to do everything on my own, or rely on my mom, or my sister, or my aunt. It's been almost three years since he's seen her and he couldn't care less. My brother's do more for her than he ever has in her entire life, and… it just sucks. Bella doesn't deserve that, and I don't deserve that."

"No, you don't," Galina agreed, covering her hand atop the table.

"She's going to realize that he's not here," Reina said emotionally. "She's going to ask, and what am I going to say? I'm not going to lie to her, but how do you tell an innocent little girl, 'oh, I'm sorry your daddy isn't here, he doesn't give a shit about you', in terms that she can understand?"

"Well for starters maybe not that harshly," Gloria frowned at her daughter.

"It doesn't matter how well you sugar coat it, Mami," Reina shook her head. "In the end, It's the truth. He doesn't care. He doesn't care about her or her medical conditions, his mother doesn't care–– like–– I don't understand. Even if you and I were on bad terms, you would go to the end of the Earth for her. You would fight to be in her life. I don't understand why he or his family doesn't do the same."

Galina squeezed her hand reassuringly. She didn't know what the right answer was, because staying in an unhappy union had not been the right thing to do either. While Bella would grow up and become curious about her father's whereabouts, her children had seen firsthand just how little their father had cared for them. He was in their home every day and had never been bothered to really get to know them.

She didn't think there was any advice that she could offer Reina and it broke her heart to realize that no matter what a mother did, they always seemed to lose. You were the bad guy if you stayed, and exposed your child to unhealthy habits, and you were the bad guy if you left and tried to make a new start. Unlike Reina, she'd never had to have or had even allowed herself to have a conversation with her kids about their father's behavior, and there seemed to be no way that she could have done so without creating even more tension and animosity in their home. She knew that in time they would come to recognize that his behavior was unusual, in comparison to their friend's fathers, but she hadn't wanted to push them into that realization prematurely.

"You can't force someone to be in the picture who doesn't want to be there," Gloria told her daughter sternly. "It took me a really long time to learn that lesson, baby. I wish I had accepted when you were growing up, but I didn't know what I was doing any more than you are. I was also a lot younger then you are now when you and your sister were born, and I was barely your age when I had the boys."

"And you still picked bad men," Reina chuckled sadly, as she wiped her eyes.

"Mm-hmm," Gloria agreed, nodding her head. "I got lucky with you girls, that your grandparents were so helpful and that they wanted to have a relationship with you. I don't know what I would have done without them and Lourdes' help. I didn't have that with the boys' dad."

"I remember," Selena sad sadly. Bringing a baby into the world was supposed to have been such a joyous occasion, but she remembered all too well how much her mother had cried during the times she was pregnant with Julio and Benny.

Galina looked at Gloria curiously, hoping that she'd elaborate into her own tussle with heartbreak. She'd never felt so validated in her feelings before this night, and it was reassuring to know that she wasn't alone in failing to pull off a happily ever after.

"I remember when I found out I was pregnant with Benny," Gloria began, "His and Julio's father, Leo, and I, had been having issues pretty much since we got together and when I told him I was pregnant, he threw the pregnancy test in my face and then walked out. I haven't seen or heard from him since. Looking back, I don't know why I was so surprised, he hardly came around, to begin with, and he didn't help with Julio. He never bought diapers or formula and didn't even show up to the hospital when he was born. He'd complain that my girls were in the house and we'd fight and he'd tell me he wasn't going to take care of them because they weren't his."

Selena and Reina rolled their eyes.

"He didn't even take care of his own sons, so, like no shit, obviously I knew he wasn't going to help with them," Gloria paused and took a sip of her melted drink. "We were on and off the entire time, and I knew from day one that it wasn't going to work, it was never intended to be a serious relationship anyway. It was just sex and the sex wasn't even great if I'm being honest."

Galina chuckled softly. She couldn't help but think how well Nicky would fit in with Gloria and her girls. The way they spoke was so free and to the point. She'd never quite had that sort of mannerism, but Nicky had, even from the time she'd been a little girl, and Galina had always appreciated that quality about her. In fact, the very way she spoke, was perhaps the reason she was so drawn to Gloria.

Gloria didn't apologize or make excuses for the things that she said, or for the things that she did. She was a single mom who had four children by two different fathers. She'd gotten pregnant at sixteen with her first child, and had her second child when she was eighteen and was now confessing to having children with a man she'd never even intended to have a relationship without outside of casual sex. It would have been so easy to look at her, and women like her, and judge them, and write them off as a promiscuous heathen with no self-respect.

But couldn't the same be said for her? Anyone else could have looked at her situation and believed it was she who had no self-respect. After all, she'd stayed with a man who made her feel like nothing more than a glorified maid and sex object. For forty years she had there to clean his house, raise his children, financially provide for their family, and at the end of a long hard day, be his bed warmer and fulfill his needs.

"Casual sex or not, we all know the risk when having sex," Reina said as she busied herself with tearing her napkin into tiny pieces. "I don't understand why we as women, always get stuck with raising the baby on our own. I don't get how a man could walk away and not even care, or how they don't even feel the tiniest bit guilty or curious about what or even who, they're leaving behind. Even my own dad, he honestly doesn't care about me or Sel. The boys' dad has never reached out to them, and Bella's dad is just as bad. He and I were together for nine years before we even got pregnant. How do you not care about someone you spent a decade with? And how do you not care about your kid?."

"What really gets me is his mother," Gloria said, shaking her head in disgust. "You two were pretty close, so I don't understand what her deal is. Your grandmother would have hunted me down and made my life hell if I had ever tried to keep you girls away from her. I never wanted to do that, because I wanted you to know your family and I loved how much she loved you girls, and it's just unfathomable to me that his mom could want nothing to do with Bella either. I would die for that little girl, and there is no way in hell I'd let you take her from me without a fight."

"I know!" Reina exclaimed. "I just don't understand that mentality. How do you walk around with a piece of you out there and just not care? I could never."

"Have you ever tried to reach out to her?" Galina asked curiously. "Maybe that's what his mother is waiting for. It's possible that she could think you want to keep Bella from her too and maybe she's just trying to respect your wishes."

Reina shook her head no. "I'm not begging anyone to be in my daughter's life," she told her sternly. "It's not up to me to reach out to them and make sure that she knows her grandmother. If Helen wanted anything to do with us, she knows where I live. She knows my number and she knows my facebook. There is no excuse for her not to reach out to me."

Galina sighed. "I'm not saying you have to chase her and beg her, but maybe you could call her and let her know that the door is open if she wanted to make the next move. I'm going through something similar with my own daughter-in-law and my grandchildren right now, and I have to say it's not as easy as you'd expect."

"What's difficult about it?" Selena asked, her brows furrowed in annoyance. She couldn't have looked more like her mother if she tried. "You want to see your grandchildren? You call her and you make plans to do so. It's not her job to call you."

"It's just not that simple," Galina shook her head. "Anna and I don't have the best relationship. I get the impression she doesn't like my family, so she doesn't come around very often. I've seen very little of her the last couple of years, and haven't even had regular visits with my grandchildren."

"Is she keeping them from you?" Gloria asked, her features mirroring Selena's exactly. "Have you tried to call her and see the kids? Why doesn't your son bring them to see you?" she asked. "These are Yuri's kids right?"

"Yes, the twins." Galina nodded, "The two that I showed you a picture of earlier," she explained as she pulled her phone back out to open the message that Yuri had sent her. "Anna is their mother, and right now she and Yuri are dealing with a lot. They've been on the rocks for a while, and like I said we've never really gotten along, but they could be on the verge of calling it quits for good. I'm worried that if they do that I'll never get to see my grandchildren, and that would break me. I love them so much, but I just feel like I don't have free range to be able to see them."

Gloria scratched awkwardly behind her ear as she read the messages Yuri had sent his mother. "No offense Galina, but your son sounds like an asshole. I probably wouldn't want to be married to him either."

"He's stressed," Galina said defensively, taking back her phone.

"It's not an excuse to talk to you the way he did earlier when you called him," Selena reminded her.

"Or missing his daughter's dance recital," Reina added.

Galina sighed. "You don't understand," she said. "He works so hard to provide for their family and she never seems to be happy with anything that he does. He tells me that she complains he isn't home enough and that he doesn't do enough, but there are only so many hours in a day. I wish my husband had worked even half as hard as Yuri does, it would have made me feel more inclined to do things for him around the house."

"Your husband sounds like he didn't do jack-shit and you still did everything for him," Gloria told her quietly. She lowered her head at the icy look she got in return. There was no part of her that wanted to offend Galina, but it was hard to agree with her on this matter when they'd just spent the last several hours talking about how men needed to stand up and take accountability for their choices and for their family.

"I think," Selena began gently, "That you should reach out to Anna and establish a relationship with her aside from Yuri. She may not be as bad as you think and she may even be grateful to you. I have to be honest with you though, all the things you've told us about him tonight doesn't make me like him very much. I get he's your son, but if he's willing to talk to you like that, and if he's okay with missing his daughter's dance recital, then can you imagine the way he acts with Anna day in and day out? I think you'd be shocked to find out the truth, or at least her version of it."

Silence fell over the small group, Galina looking at her phone, silently re-reading the messages that Yuri had sent her. She could feel Gloria's eyes on her but she didn't look up as she continued to scroll up, taking note of how sparse, and even temperamental Yuri's messages had been toward her over the last couple of months. The waiter who'd been assisting them all evening came up again, their checks in hand and an apologetic smile on her face as she set them down and explained that they would be closing soon.

"Oh, shit," Gloria cursed under her breath as she looked at her phone for the time. It was nearly eleven. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," she said, pulling out her debit card and setting it on the table. "Sel is there anyway Noah can pick us up?" she asked.

Galina slid out of the booth to allow Gloria out, and she crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"Yea," Selena nodded, bringing her own cell phone to her ear to call her husband.

"Okay," Gloria said as she pulled on the material above her knees so that she could free the fabric that was stuck in her crotch. "We're going to give you a ride home, Galina. It's too late to walk and we've been drinking, so I don't want you to get into a cab by yourself."

Despite herself, Galina smiled at her and nodded. Gloria walked off in the direction toward the ladies room and Galina sat back down to wait so that their server could bring back their cards.

"I'm sorry if we hurt your feelings," Reina said after a moment. She played with her fingers awkwardly and smiled at her. "I'm glad you came out with us tonight. I hope we aren't too opinionated for your taste."

"I had fun," Galina told her truthfully. She chewed on her bottom lip, admitting to herself silently that it wasn't her feelings that were bruised, but her ego, as she expected any mother would be when their child was insulted.

"You know," Selena said, disconnecting the phone call with her husband. "I at least understand why my mom always has such a good time with you."

"Really?" Galina asked, her eyes softening around the corners. "I don't usually spend the whole night crying when we're together, but it felt good to get a lot of that off of my chest tonight. I really did have a good time with you girls, and I think my daughter, Nicky, would really get along with you too."

"We should plan something soon and you can invite her," Selena suggested.

"And Lida," Reina said. "Bring Lida. I really loved her and maybe we could bring the kids and Bella could play with Koyla and Vera too. That would be so sweet."

Galina smiled at her and nodded her head in agreeance. "So," she drew the word out, lazily stirring her straw in her empty glass. "What else does Gloria say about me?"

Selena laughed. "Nothing bad. She honestly just likes spending time with you. She talks about how funny you are, and she spends all her free time on the phone with you," she shook her head. "It's a little annoying sometimes when I'm trying to talk to her, but it's also kind of sweet. You're like her best friend."

"Which is amazing," Reina told her truthfully, "Because I don't really care for her friend Aledia."

"Yes," Galina nodded her head, "I've heard of Aleida."

"Just wait until you actually meet her," Reina rolled her eyes. "The woman is a walking catastrophe just waiting to happen."

…

"Thanks for picking us up, Noah," Gloria thanked her son-in-law as she climbed into the backseat of behind Reina. Galina followed in after her, silently pulling the door closed and buckling herself securely into the seat.

Noah smiled at her in the rearview mirror. "No problem. Did you ladies have a good time?" he turned his attention toward his wife, who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat.

"The best," Selena told him, bringing his hand up to her mouth and kissing the back of it. "Thanks for picking us up, baby. I really love you, ya know."

Her husband beamed under her praise, a pink blush spread across his cheeks. "You're welcome, baby. You deserve the best." He turned her hand, brought it to his mouth and kissed it sweetly.

"Ohhh, baby," Selena purred, "Baby, are you trying to put the moves on me?" she teasingly stroked the large vein in his neck with her index finger.

Sharing a look with Reina, Gloria rolled her eyes and shook her head. She knew her daughter was married and she knew what married people did, but that didn't mean that she wanted to hear or see her baby girl actively work to seduce her husband. Turning her attention to Galina, she sighed regretfully at the way she was pressed up against the car door, looking out the window.

No doubt she was upset with her. Gloria imagined she would be upset too if someone called her son an asshole. Moving her hand to Galina's knee, she squeezed gently, waiting for her to acknowledge her silent plea for attention.

Finally, Galina turned her head, her beautiful blue eyes meeting Gloria's mesmerizing brown ones. "Are you okay?" Gloria whispered.

Galina nodded, cracking a half-smile at her. "Just tired," she told her.

Gloria blinked at her playfully. "Are you sure?" she smiled at her, squeezing her knee once more. "I'm glad you came out with me tonight," she told her sincerely. "Maybe we can do this again? Next time you can bring your girls."

"I'd like that," Galina told her, covering Gloria's hand in her own. She could tell Gloria felt bad about what she said about Yuri, which she should be. You couldn't call someone's child out and not expect the mother to become defensive. She felt Gloria's hand turned beneath her own so that their palms were touching, and seconds later, a smile pulled across her lips as she felt Gloria's fingers began to make ghost-like motions against her palm.

Gloria did this for some time, mindlessly tracing letters into Galina's palm before smoothing her hand out and measuring the sizes of their hands, and comparing the contrast between their skin tones.

"I wish I could grow my nails out like yours," she said quietly as she interlocked their fingers.

"Your nails are ugly," Galina agreed, laughing at the look of shock scribbled in Gloria's face. She playfully tapped her finger against Gloria's nose, laughing as Gloria nipped at it playfully.

They were oblivious to the knowing smile Noah was giving his wife and paid no notice to the teasing tone of his voice as he announced that he was turning onto Galina's street. Pulling up to the curve in front of her house, he put his car in park and settled back into his seat, sure that this wouldn't just be a quick drop off.

"I'll walk you in," Gloria told her as she unbuckled her seat belt and crawled out of the car behind her.

"Galina," Selena rolled down her window, "I'm so glad you came out with us tonight. This was so much fun. I hope we can do it again. I'm sorry about… ya know," she smiled at her shyly. " I promise we'll be nicer next time."

"Well, I'm glad you invited me," Galina told her with a smile. "If I brought Nicky I'm sure she'd love to join all of you in complaining about her brothers. Goodnight honey, and thank you, Noah, for the ride," she waved at him.

Turning away from the car, she smiled at Gloria as they made the walk up toward her door. "I really did have a good time with you tonight," Galina told her as they made it to her front porch. "And I really would like to see you and your girls again."

"Good," Gloria nodded, smiling and much more confident then she'd been minutes ago. "I'd hate to lose you, and I'm really sorry about what I said. I should have kept my opinion to myself."

"Yea," Galina nodded her head in agreeance, "You probably should have." She sighed and played with her keys nervously. Shaking her head, she looked up at Gloria with glassy eyes. "Do you think I'm a bad mother?" she asked her quietly, her words almost so faint that Gloria had to strain to hear them. "Is that why my kids are avoiding me, and keeping their children from me?"

"No," Gloria shook her head in protest. "I think you're a great mom, Galina. I think you are the kindest and most generous person that I have ever met. I do think that you should call your daughter-in-law and make plans to see your grandchildren, and then I think you should talk to Anna and get her side of the story."

Galina nodded her head in understanding.

"Then, I think you need to call your kids and confront them about their behavior," she told her truthfully. "Figure out what's going on and try to fix it before it creates even bigger problems."

Rubbing at her neck, Galina admitted, "I'm scared. I don't know why, Gloria, but I just feel like there is something going on; a reason that they're avoiding me."

"You're never going to know if you don't ask," Gloria sang teasingly.

"I guess," Galina shrugged.

"Oh, Reznikov," Gloria chuckled, "you're complicated, you know that?"

"That I do, Mendoza," she smiled. "But isn't that the reason you like me?"

Gloria nodded. "One of many," she promised.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so glad that so many of you are enjoying this story! I don't know why, but it surprises me. I really appreciate the kind words, and all of your reviews have motivated me to update as quickly as I can. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

-08-

"Call her!'

"No!"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Galina-"

"Gloria, I'm going to hang up on you," Galina promised, ignoring the rising frustration that she could hear in her friend's voice.

They'd had this same argument for days, and each time it got them nowhere. She didn't feel comfortable calling Anna and didn't see why she had to be the one to make the first move. She was the mother-in-law; Anna was married to her son; didn't that make her the matriarch of the family?

Now, that wasn't to say she expected to be treated like a queen. She didn't. But it wouldn't have killed Anna to show her a little common courtesy. She could have just as easily picked up the phone to tell her about the dance recital as Yuri. Why hadn't she thought to do that? As a grandmother, didn't she have a right to be there for her grandchildren, and to be involved in their life? Lida had no problem calling her and involving her in Koyla and Vera's activities, so why did Anna?

Dmitri's parents hadn't been her favorite people in the world, and she knew what it was like to not care for one's mother-in-law, but until their dying day she'd been the one to set up the arrangements so that her children could see their grandparents. She'd planned the family dinners and had invited them to birthday parties, and rugby matches, and school recitals, because she believed that they'd had a right to know about those things.

They didn't even like her, and Dmitri's sister, Malvina, had verbally attacked her on more than one occasion. Dmitri had never defended, and neither had her in-laws, but did she use that as an excuse to keep them from the children? No.

The sound of Gloria laughing pulled her out of her thoughts and she rolled her eyes as she held the phone in place with her shoulder so that she could wash her hands. The lunch rush that she'd been preparing for since that morning had just ended, so she had a little bit of time to clean up and get things ready for the evening rush. If she was lucky, she'd even be able to get a head start for tomorrow's preparations, so that she wouldn't have too much to do at the end of the night.

"Anyway, what are you doing?" Galina asked her finally, wiping her hands off on her apron.

"Eating lunch and cleaning up my office," Gloria told her.

"What are you eating?"

"Peanut butter and jelly, and I also have some pretzels and some grapes."

Galina smiled, "Sounds cute."

"It's very cute, My Bella-bug made it for me last night, and she even let me use her Mermaid lunch box."

"Aww," Galina cooed. "She must really love you."

"That's my baby," Gloria told her happily. "Reina has to work this weekend, so I think I'm going to take her to the aquarium on Saturday while Selena runs the gym. Any chance you'd want to come and bring the kiddos?"

"I'll ask Lida and let you know," Galina told her. "Koyla seems to have a new obsession for sharks lately, so I'm sure he'd love it. Vera will probably throw a fit if she doesn't actually see a mermaid, though."

"I wouldn't mind seeing a mermaid," Gloria agreed.

Galina rolled her eyes. "You know, dollar-day at the zoo coming up in the next couple of weeks? Lida was telling me about that last night, so maybe that's something that we could do together too?"

"Sure, I can even bring Benny. I always thought he kind of looked like a monkey, and that kid is getting too expensive for me to handle. Ya think they'd let me leave him there?"

Chuckling in the back of her throat, Galina rolled her eyes. "Are you always this mean to your sons?

"Always," Gloria confirmed jokingly. "The real world is tough out there, and I'm preparing them for it. My body has never been the same since I got pregnant with them, you know. Aren't I entitled to a little compensation for my pain and suffering? Because not only did they steal my figure, but kids cost a lot of money. I have no idea why I had so many."

"Because you don't believe in birth control?" Galina guessed.

Gloria giggled. "How was I supposed to know you could get pregnant having sex in a hot tub?" she asked playfully. "Ahh, the good old days. I remember them well. Anyway, speaking of kids and how much money they cost me, I wanted to know if I leave some business cards or flyers in your store? It'll be summer soon and I want to get as much business as I can from all the moms wanting a summer body."

"Sure," Galina chuckled. "Whatever you want."

"You're amazing!" Gloria sang. "I'll probably bring them by tonight, or I might send Benny. I have a class tonight at seven."

"How do you get your children to help you?" Galina wondered as she began to wipe down the counters.

"I can't get my kids to do anything around the store these days unless I ask in advance and schedule it into their plans."

"Well, your children are grown," she reminded her. "My boys are not. Sometimes they think they are, but then I remind them who pays the bills. It's either work here or go get a job somewhere else. Julio tried that last year and after two weeks, he quit. Said he couldn't take people yelling at him who weren't me."

"What about the girls?" Galina asked.

"Reina helps so that I won't charge her when I have to buy things, or run errands for Bella, and Selena helps 'cause she and Noah like to dance and take the yoga classes. Which works for me, because then I don't have to pay them and I'm able to spend more time with you."

Galina smiled at her words, her cheeks beginning to burn under Gloria's adoration. There was something about their relationship that was different from anything she had ever had before. In Russia, she'd had a best friend named Nadezhda, and they'd grown up together and had spent their whole lives looking out for one another. Galina cherished the memories that she had of her friend, but she couldn't ever remember feeling for Nadezhda, what she felt for Gloria.

Gloria was different from anyone that she had ever met. There was just something about her that left Galina wanting more. She loved talking to her and enjoyed spending time with her, and having to say goodbye always felt so painful, and so incredibly wrong. Gloria made her feel like the most important person in the world. She didn't make her feel like a burden, and Galina felt free to talk about anything and everything on her mind.

Despite all the negative things that she harped on, there had been some decent times with Dmitri. He'd had his moments when he could be incredibly kind, and even romantic, but even their best moments together couldn't hold a candle to Gloria. She was funny, she was smart, she was a wonderful mother, and she had to be hands down, the most beautiful woman that Galina had ever seen. She wasn't too thin that she looked sick, but she wasn't overweight either. She looked healthy, and she was curvy, and unlike anything that Galina had ever seen before.

How Gloria was still single was beyond her. She couldn't think of a man in the world who wouldn't be thrilled to have her on his arm.

Or even a woman, she thought.

At the sound of her own voice in her head, Galina paused in her cleaning. She pulled the phone away from her ear and squinted at it skeptically before putting it back. She could hear Gloria singing softly to herself, surely lost in her own world.

"Huh," she said aloud, a smirk tugging on the corner of her lip. She felt as if she'd cracked the code, the reason for why some man hadn't swept Gloria off her feet and made an honest woman out of her.

Surely Gloria had given the male species ample opportunity to do so, she'd dated enough of them throughout the course of her life, and there was absolutely no way on God's green Earth, that there wasn't someone out there who'd wanted to marry her at one point or another. It was simply impossible.

The only logical explanation that there could be was that Gloria didn't want to marry a man. She wanted a woman. It all made sense now. The whole thing. The circumstances that they'd met under; the reason it had never worked out with past lovers. It was possible that Gloria was in denial, but thinking back on how calm and collected she'd been when they'd met at the restaurant a couple of months ago, Galina didn't think so.

Leaning against the counter and playing with the end of red hair, Galina said, "Gloria, I have a question for you."

"Okay. I might have an answer," Gloria replied distractedly.

"Okay, let me think about how I want to word this," Galina murmured, hearing the rustling of papers on the other end of the line. She had a feeling that this was going to take Gloria by surprise, and she wanted to word it as delicately as she could. She licked her lips and listened to the sound of Gloria as she crunched and chewed on her pretzels. "Do you remember the night we met? You didn't seem surprised or disturbed that I was… me. Why is that?"

"You? What do you mean you? I didn't even know you," Gloria told her.

"You know what I mean," Galina told her. "Me… me… a-"

"You mean a woman?" Gloria clarified, interrupting her. She exhaled a breath and began to chew on another pretzel. "I don't know," she said finally. "Maybe because I'm not as mean as you are, and didn't want to make you feel like a freak."

"I didn't want to make you feel like a freak," Galina frowned. "I was just surprised."

"Yea, I got that," Gloria laughed. "You wanted to run away from me. You only stayed and ate with me so I wouldn't look pathetic eating by myself."

"That's not true… well, it's a little true," she admitted.

Gloria laughed softly in her ear. "Why are you asking about that?" she asked curiously.

"I was just wondering… why you were so okay with it. You didn't seem shocked, and your daughter felt comfortable enough to tease you about setting you up with a woman. You didn't even seem to question it."

"What's there to question?" Gloria asked her curiously. "It was just dinner. Dinner's never killed anyone before unless it's a poisoned dinner, I guess. That wouldn't be good."

"No, no, I know. I was just… Gloria, are you… a lesbian?" Galina asked finally. The sound of Gloria's crunching slowly tapered off, and the only thing that appeared to answer Galina's question was silence. Chewing on her lip nervously, she held her breath and waited for Gloria to respond.

She hadn't really thought about it until now, but if she were being honest with herself, it had been on her mind since they met. Gloria didn't look like a lesbian, except maybe her hair, but even that was still pretty cute and chic. She had four kids and had no problem talking about her sexual history, which so far only seemed to include men. If she'd passed her in a grocery store, Galina wouldn't have thought twice about her sexual orientation. It didn't matter to her one way or the other, but Gloria had seemed so okay about the prospect of having a date with a woman, that Galina was curious about what would have happened if she hadn't made such a scene.

If she had just gone along with it, would Gloria have treated the evening as a date? Would it have been any different than the lovely time they did have together, or would Gloria have simply been polite enough not to embarrass her?

Galina regretted the way she acted toward Gloria that first night, but she hadn't wanted to go out that evening in the first place, and the idea that Nicky had pulled some kind practical joke on her was mortifying. Now though, she often found herself wondering what the harm would have been in letting the night have taken its course.

Finally, after a long pause, Gloria spoke. "I don't think so. I don't know…. Why, are you a lesbian?"

"Why do you ask?" Galina wondered curiously. "Do I seem like a lesbian?"

"I don't know, but I must seem like one to you if you're asking me," Gloria defend herself.

"Nicky said you gave off some sapphic vibes," Galina told her. "And she really is a lesbian, so she's got one of those gaydar things."

"Gaydar things," Gloria mocked her, laughing loudly. "Oh, Jesus, Galina… is that why you're asking? Was your daughter's gaydar was buzzing too loudly when I was in the vicinity? Those things aren't always accurate, ya know?"

"No, I have a reason for asking," Galina told her. "I have another question first, though. Have you ever done anything with a woman?

"No, I've never done anything with a woman," Gloria told her honestly. "Well, I mean I've kissed one, but I don't know if that counts because we were both drunk. What about you? Have you ever done anything with a woman?"

"No," Galina answered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Have you ever thought about trying it? If someone were a lesbian, they would probably think about it, right? I remember having this conversation with Nicky when she was twelve. She was thinking about kissing girls and didn't seem to have any curiosity whatsoever about kissing a boy."

"Probably," Gloria agreed. "I'm not really sure of the science behind that kind of thing, but I also think that people can repress their feelings. Especially those of us who are older and were taught that we needed to be married to a man, raise children, and run a household in order to be successful."

"That's true," Galina agreed. "I was uncomfortable with it at first when Nicky told me she was gay. Not because I was really upset about it, but because I was worried about what other people would think, and what they would do to her. I didn't want anyone to hurt her. I told her that as long as she was happy, and that as long as the person she dated treated her with respect, that I didn't care who she brought home."

"That's the same talk I had with my kids," Gloria told her. "We have this neighbor who is transgender, her name is Sophia, and I like her. She has a wife and a kid, he's around Benny's age, and they hang out all the time. They come over sometimes for dinner, and they're really nice people. I never asked how that situation came about, but I don't really care to know either. What she does in her bedroom, or who she does it with, or what she's got going on between her legs isn't really any of my business."

"You might not like me asking this next question then, but I am curious," Galina explained. "Have you ever thought about doing… anything… with a woman?"

"You are full of questions today, ma'am," Gloria chuckled.

"I know, I'm sorry," Galina apologized.

Gloria clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I don't think I've given it much thought before now, but mean, I'd probably do it one time to see if I liked it. Why not, right?"

"Why would you, unless you wanted to?" Galina asked with a frown. "It's not like trying a new restaurant or going someplace to vacation. Is there a reason that you'd want to try? Like, do you really think being intimate with a woman is something you'd actually want to do."

"I could argue that it is like wanting to try a new restaurant, or vacationing in a new spot," Gloria laughed. "Oral would be like… trying some type of exotic meal, I guess, right? And if they did it right and you had an orgasm, or if you gave her an orgasm, then I guess that'd feel like a vacation."

"You didn't even have to think about that response," Galina chuckled. "I think you've been thinking about this for some time. Perhaps you have some unresolved thoughts that you need to process."

"Maybe," Gloria agreed.

"You've had sex with men, didn't that feel right?" Galina asked her. "I mean, if it felt right you wouldn't wonder about something else. You would just know that having sex with a man was that you liked to do."

"Sure, sometimes the sex was nice," Gloria told her truthfully. "With some, it was even fantastic, and with others, it wouldn't have mattered if I was in the room at all. They just wanted a warm body."

"I kind of know what you mean about the warm body thing. I felt like that with Dmitri sometimes. I didn't always want to have sex with him, because I was just so angry with him all the time," Galina confessed. "But when we were intimate it wasn't exactly awful either, ya know? There's a lot of history there and he was my husband, so even though there were times I didn't want to do it, I didn't exactly roll away from him after either. We were able to achieve our end goals, and sometimes, when I really wanted to, I could convince myself that I did want to be with him. You know what I mean?"

"Not really," Gloria said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Galina frowned. "You were with Chris for almost a decade. Surely you two had some good times together. In his own messed up way Dmitri loved me, or at least cared about me. Deep down, beneath my anger, I know that. You can't be with someone for forty years and not love them at least a little bit. We do have children together, after all."

"I guess," Gloria whispered. She exhaled a deep breath and said, "But I don't really know."

"To some extent, you know what I'm talking about," Galina told her. "Don't you still love Chris? Maybe you're not in love with him, but he is the father of your girls, and you're their mother. There's got to be a little something there that acknowledges you two had a connection. He loved you at one point in time, and you loved him. You wouldn't have stayed so long trying to make it work if that weren't the case."

"Galina, he didn't love me," Gloria said sadly. "He never did. He told me that enough times during the course of our relationship that I don't even bother to question it. He still tells me to this day that he never loved me, and it's been over twenty years since we've been together."

"What? Why would he tell you a thing like that?" Galina frowned. "Why would you stay eight years with someone who told you they didn't love you, Gloria?" she asked her. She knew why she'd stayed in her own marriage, and why she had put up with all of the things that she had, but she didn't understand why Gloria would do such a thing. She had Lourdes for support, whereas Galina would have been all on her own. Having one person on your team was better than having no one.

"Because I wanted him to," Gloria confessed pathetically. "I wanted him to love me, and to be a father. I did love him. I loved him very much, but he didn't give a damn about me, Galina, and he didn't give a damn about our daughters. Had his mother not wanted them, and had she not made sure that the girl's and I were taken care of, I don't know what I would have done." Gloria sighed and her voice took on an incredibly gentle tone. "I was in a really bad place for a really long time. I know you say all the time about how surprised you are that I find you so great, but the truth is I don't see what you see in me. I don't think you'd like me very much if we'd met years ago, and you'd probably be like everyone else and not think I was worth the hassle."

"Don't say that," Galina pleaded with her, shaking her head in protest. She could feel her eyes instantly glisten with sadness. "You are amazing, Gloria. Who wouldn't love you? You're successful, you're smart, you're beautiful. You have amazing kids and an amazing family. What's not to love?"

"You'd be surprised," Gloria chuckled sadly. "I feel like I'm just starting to get on my feet. When I started to dance it was like I finally found something I was good at, and something that I could really make my own. I was finally able to support my family and I didn't have to rely on Lourdes or Chris' mom to do it for me. I'm not like you, Galina. You managed to get your life in order and find a way to provide for your children when they were young. You built what you have from the very beginning, almost as soon as you got to this country."

Galina shook her head. "There was a lot of things that I had to give up for this," she said. "I put up with a lot. I let my husband walk all over me because I didn't know how to walk away, and in doing so I probably did more harm to my children than good"

"I know you had to deal with a lot, but the point I'm trying to make is that you did it. Me? No. I didn't give my children stability the way you were able to do yours. Chris and I would get into ugly, knock-down-drag-out fights right in front of the girls, and when I finally moved out, I still couldn't get us onto a stable environment," she said. "Then I dated men like Leo. You think that type of person was someone I should have brought around my kids? It was idiotic. I don't know why I did that, but… I wouldn't have my sons otherwise, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. My life was a mess, Galina, it really was. I had to work two and three jobs to make ends meet. We lived in tiny apartments and had to sleep on a mattress on the floor, all four of us just squished together. It was miserable. I was miserable. I just… it was not a good environment to grow up in. My kids deserved a hell of a lot better than I was ever able to give them growing up. It's why I do so much for them now, and why I spoil Bella the way that I do."

Galina's heart broke for her. She'd never heard this part of Gloria's past and it made her feel guilty for complaining so much about her own. She could hear how upset Gloria was from the tremor in her voice and she rightfully blamed herself. When she'd first called, Gloria had been upbeat and happy, talking about the dance move she'd managed to nail on her stripper pole.

"Good men don't want someone like me," Gloria told her truthfully. "They want someone like you. They want someone who is smart and who has it together. I know that's another reason I like you so much. You're like the total package. I would have killed to be the kind of mother and wife that you were. I mean, damn, I would have loved for anyone to have even wanted to marry me. No one has ever proposed to me. I was never good enough for that kind of commitment."

"Gloria," Galina whispered her name sadly, "You know that's not true, right?"

"I guess," Gloria wasn't convinced, and Galina could hear the tremor in her voice and could tell that she was on the verge of tears. "Anyway," she tried to clear her throat, "I guess my curiosity comes from just wanting someone to love me. I mean really love me. Man, woman, love is love, right? I wouldn't force it, I've done that before and it's never worked out, but I mean if the chemistry is there and it happens, it happens. You aren't supposed to run from love, you're supposed to embrace it."

"You're right," Galina agreed softly, nodding her head. She hit her fist against the countertop. Gloria sounded so broken. She'd never heard her sound this sad before and she cursed herself for asking so many questions.

"Oh, hey, listen, I'll call you back okay? I have to go. I- uh…" she was lying. Galina knew she was lying. She didn't call her on it though. She could hear it in her voice that she was crying. "I'll call you. I'll have Benny come by later with the business cards and stuff. Okay?"

"Okay," Galina agreed quietly, hanging her head. She heard Gloria swallow a sob, and in the next second, before she could say anything else, the line had been disconnected.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Back at it with an update, you all are amazing! Suggestions/ requests are always welcome, as I do my very best to incorporate them as long as they don't diverge from the main plot. XO

-09-

Business had picked up again as expected, and despite the smile on her face as she greeted every customer who walked into her store, Galina was feeling positively awful. She couldn't get the phone call with Gloria out of her mind and found herself anxiously checking her phone every few minutes in hopes that Gloria had messaged her.

The front door opened and the little bell atop of it rang loudly in greeting. Lifting her head and turning her phone over so that it was face down on the counter, Galina smiled softly, her heart instantly feeling lighter at the sight of Nicky walking toward her.

"Hey, Ma," Nicky greeted her as she leaned across the counter to kiss her cheek.

"Hi, sweetheart," she returned her kiss and raised a brow in question, noticing just how dressed up her baby girl was. Gazing her eyes over Nicky's physique, she chuckled softly. "My, my honey, what's the occasion?"

"I look hot, huh?" Nicky asked. She spun so that her mother could fully appreciate her outfit. She was wearing an emerald green blouse and a black pencil skirt; her hair was perfectly curled, and her makeup was a lot softer than usual.

"Very," Galina nodded. "Are you and Lorna going out tonight or something?"

Nicky shook her head no. "I just wanted to treat myself," she explained with a girlish smile. "It was impulsive and last minute, but I got some really good news today and went to celebrate with some of my classmates. You know I always love a good skirt."

"Good news?" Galina asked, "Do tell, I could use some good news right about now."

"Guess," Nicky encouraged her.

Galina bit her lip and thought for a moment. "You went out with classmates, so I'm guessing it has something to do with school?"

Nicky had spent the last several years making a name for herself in the world of psychology. She'd worked with people with a variety of mental illness ranging from OCD, bipolar depression, to schizophrenia, to also working with survivors of domestic violence and child abuse; she'd worked with at youth risk youth, and addicts in recovery to even more recently working in grief counseling, and helping women who'd lost their children. She was currently in school for her master's degree, with tentative plans to one day obtain a Doctorate.

"I'm graduating!" Nicky exclaimed, unable to wait any longer. "I did it! I'm officially going to be one degree hotter!" She threw her hands into the air and twirled herself around and around.

"What?" Galina exclaimed, not sure if she'd heard her right. She felt as if her heart would burst out of her chest at any moment.

Nicky had been an A-honor-roll student since kindergarten and had been inducted into every honor society at every school she'd ever attended. Walking around the counter, Galina threw her arms around her girl and embraced her tightly. She was every bit the brains and beauty that Galina wished she could have been. Rubbing her hand up and down the length of Nicky's back, Galina exhaled a shaky breath against the skin of her neck.

"Oh, baby," she whispered, "Honey, I am so proud of you! I know how hard you have worked for this." She kissed her temple sweetly, "Oh, Nicky, I love you so much, sweetheart."

"I'm graduating on Mother's Day," Nicky told her, rocking them from side to side as she squeezed her tightly.

Galina pulled back, gently cupping Nicky's face in her hands. "This is the best gift I could ever ask for," she told her sincerely. She planted a wet kiss on her cheek and made the sucking noise that she knew Nicky hated.

"Ma," Nicky pouted, "Mama you're getting lipstick all over me."

"We're going to celebrate," Galina assured her, rubbing her hands up and down the length of Nicky's arms. "I wanted to have lunch anyway with you kids, so this is perfect. Nicky, I really am so proud of you. Think about what you want, and I'll make it happen, okay?"

Nicky nodded her understanding. "If that will make you happy, Ma, but we can always celebrate me another time. It's Mother's Day, the day should be about you. I mean without you I wouldn't even be here."

"I am pretty great," Galina agreed with a smirk. "I want to celebrate you," she reassured her. "Besides, this is something your brothers would come to. If we celebrated me, I'm sure no one would show up."

"Ma," Nicky shook her head, her lips pulling into a frown. "That's not true," she promised her.

"Isn't it?" Galina sighed. "I told you that Maxsim canceled on me the other night, right?"

"Yea," Nicky nodded. "Then you went out and got wasted with Gloria and her girls. Lida and I were very jealous, by the way."

"I told Gloria that we'd have to go out again so that you girls could come," Galina reassured her. "I think you'd like her daughters a lot. They have very foul mouths just like you."

"That's the way I like my women," Nicky smirked. "Any idea when are we all going to go out? I could use a drink and I'm sure Lida could use a night off too. Hey!" she exclaimed happily, "Maybe we could rent a pavilion at the park for Mother's Day and you can invite Gloria and her family? That would be a lot of fun, all of the moms getting together, and then we can celebrate my graduation too, plus the kids will be able to run around."

"Maybe," Galina nodded. She moved her hands to the small of her back and rubbed her fingers in slow, circular motions. "I was talking to Gloria earlier and I really upset her," she confessed. "I didn't mean to, but I asked some questions I probably shouldn't have and by the end of it I could tell she was crying."

Nicky raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you ask her that would make her start crying? Did you two get into a fight or something?"

"No, nothing like that," Galina shook her head. "I was just… curious?" she struggled to find the right word to describe her state of mind. "She's never been married, and I asked her why."

"Kind of odd," Nicky raised her brow. "Why do you care if she's never been married?"

"I don't––I mean, I… You've met her," Galina shrugged. "You know how great she is. I just don't see why she's still single. It'd be like if you were single. You're beautiful, smart, educated, and Lorna is very lucky to have you. If she didn't want to be with you, I would be shocked and heartbroken for you," Galina told her truthfully.

Nicky smirked at her, watching as her mother twitched awkwardly in place.

"Or like Lida," Galina hurried to explain. "She's successful and she's a wonderful mother, Vasily would be an idiot to ever let her go and-"

"So, you were wondering who the idiot was that let Gloria go?" Nicky asked curiously. She watched her mother carefully, for a reaction. She'd taken notice of how much time her mother and Gloria had been spending together and was sincerely happy for her. For so many years her mother had been the glue holding their family together, never taking a day to do anything for herself.

Her father never did much for her either, and it was nice that she was finally giving herself the opportunity to take some time for herself and get out of her comfort zone. It wasn't often that parenthood allowed for time off, especially when you were the one carrying the brunt of the load.

"You and Gloria seem to have gotten pretty close," Nicky said after a few more minutes of her mother saying nothing. "I'm sure she wonders the same about you. How pop could walk out on you the way he did, especially after everything you'd gone through to make the marriage work. I know you were unhappy. I never would have questioned it if you had left him, but I still don't see how he was able to walk out on you. You're the total package, Ma, and you deserved a lot better than he ever gave you."

"Maybe we all would have been better off if I had left," Galina said quietly, looking down at her hands as she pulled at the skin around her thumb. "I just couldn't bear to give you kids up every other weekend or on holidays. It would have absolutely crushed me."

"I know, Ma," Nicky told her gently.

"Now it seems that Yuri is going through the same thing. I'm not sure what is going on with him and Anna, but I told you that he didn't go to the dance recital."

Nicky nodded her head. "If I had known, I would have gone. I know those kids feel left out. We spoil Vera and Koyla, and they're old enough to see the difference in the way they are treated."

"You can't spoil grandchildren that you never see. We saw them at Christmas and it's almost May." Galina exhaled a frustrated sigh and raked her hand through her hair. "If Yuri leaves her then I probably will never be able to see the twins. I don't want that to happen, but I don't want him to stay somewhere he is unhappy either."

"If anyone leaves, I hope it's Anna," Nicky scoffed. "She is honestly too good for him. I really think it would be better for everyone, and just because they separate doesn't mean you have to lose them, Ma. You will always be their grandmother."

At her daughter's words, Galina frowned, the lines in her forehead creasing. "Why would you say that?"

"Say what?"

"That you hope she leaves him," Galina clarified. "You said so yourself she'd had an affair with a guy in her office. I thought it was big of Yuri to take her on that retreat to try to fix things. Not a lot of people would do that, but he has to still love her."

"Or he wants to throw it in her face and use it to make her feel guilty?" Nicky suggested. "It's not like it'd be the first time he did that to her. Why do you always make him out to be something greater than what he is? Surely, you're not that far in denial, Ma." Nicky turned her wrist to look at her watch. It was fifteen till seven, and she made the executive decision to lock up the store early.

Galina watched her with narrowed eyes but didn't have it in her to protest. She was ready to call it a day and was grateful that she'd been able to achieve her goal of getting all of the prep-work done for tomorrow. Now, when she got to work in the morning, all she would have to do was pop the food into the oven.

"Why do you think I'm in?" Galina asked conversationally, unlocking the register so that she could square away its balance.

"Because clearly, you are," Nicky mumbled, walking around the counter so that she could be close to her mother. "You hate Anna so much you don't even care that Yuri treats her like a doormat."

"That's not true!" Galina exclaimed passionately, her eyes dilating nearly four sizes in shock.

"Really?" Nicky arched her brow. "Maybe Gloria falls for the sweet, innocent little act you have going on, but I know you, Ma. You haven't liked her since day one, I mean for god sakes, you called her Sparkle Tits for the first two years that they dated."

"Oh," Galina's face flushed in embarrassment. "I did call her that, didn't I?" she asked meekly, rubbing her forehead awkwardly.

"They were bad together from day one, and the only reason they got married was 'cause she got pregnant," Nicky told her logically.

Galina separated the money out for the deposit and sealed it into the bag with the receipt. "Do you think it's Yuri or Anna who causes the most trouble?" she inquired. "Anna always looks as if she's swallowed a lemon and Yuri has told me before that she doesn't appreciate how hard he works."

"Oh, boo-hoo," Nicky mocked her brother. "It must be so hard for him to get up and go to work every day to support the family he decided to have. Poor baby, how will he ever survive?" She rolled her eyes and pulled her hair into a large bun so that it wasn't sticking to her neck. "You know he was on vacation about a month ago and hardly ever home? Lida told me he was only home for like two hours at a time. Apparently, he spent the entire time at her house complaining about Anna and how little she does for him. He called her a bunch of names and when Lida asked him to stop, he started being rude to her. She kicked him out and then she and Vasily got into a big fight about it."

Galina looked up at her in surprise. She spoke with Lida regularly and she had never once told her about this particular incident. "What was he saying about Anna that made Lida so upset?" she shook her head. "I can't believe that."

"I guess they got into a fight that morning because he'd been home the whole week and had hardly been home, and he called her a bunch of names before walking out on her. He was saying this stuff in front of Vera and Koyla which was why Lida got so upset, you know she is strict about that kind of thing," Nicky explained. "Anyway, she asked him to stop and then pointed out how she would be angry too because he'd been sitting on her couch all week and hadn't even picked up after himself. Then he just started screaming at her and I guess Vasily didn't defend her fast enough or something."

"I've never heard this before," Galina told her daughter seriously. "Lida has never said a word to me about this and neither has Vasily. Why are you barely telling me about this now, Nicky?"

"It's been in front of your face for years," Nicky shrugged her shoulders. "I know how you are about these things, Ma, you're going to go home and overthink this to death, and other than tell him to treat his wife better there isn't anything you can do. They have to make a decision about what to do about their marriage for themselves. I know you want to, but you can't fix everything."

Galina shook her head sadly as she walked with the cash drawer into the back office. She hadn't raised her son to treat women the way Nicky was saying Yuri treated Anna. She didn't know how she'd been oblivious to it all this time, but the realization made her feel sick. "Gloria told me that I needed to call Anna," Galina admitted quietly as she locked the cash drawer and deposit into the safe.

"Invite her to Mother's Day personally," Nicky suggested. "I bet she'd come if she knew we actually wanted her there."

Galina nodded her head. Flipping her wrist to look at her watch she noted the time was just barely seven and pursed her lips together in thought. "Gloria's son was supposed to come by tonight," she said quietly. "She wanted to leave some business cards here but now I'm not sure."

"Call her?" Nicky suggested. "You don't want to wait here all night for him if he doesn't come."

"She's in a class," Galina said knowingly. "I think I might just go by her gym and pick them up myself. Worst case scenario I'd pass him on the way. She only works a couple of blocks over."

"I'll go with you," Nicky offered. "Lorna is at her mom's tonight anyway."

Galina smiled at her and grabbed her purse from beneath the desk. "Sure, honey, you know I always enjoy your company. Just don't tell me anything else about my sons, okay? I want to live in my delusions a little longer. I'd hate to think that all of my boys take after their father."

…

"Wow," Nicky whistled as they walked into Gloria's gym. It was much larger than her mother's store and the light walls seemed to make it look even bigger. Light music was playing gently over a speaker, making her instantly feel relaxed. "This is a nice place."

Galina nodded her head in agreement. She'd been here several times before but was always amazed at how beautiful the set up was. There was a collection of red chairs tucked in a corner, and a coffee table with neatly stacked magazines on top of it that made up a small waiting room. Off to the side, was a mini drink fridge and a coffee pot that the members were welcome to help themselves anytime that they wanted.

Behind the front desk, which was centered in the main part of the building, was an open floor plan with several different types of workout equipment, an indoor track circling around its entirety. The hallway to the left of the desk contained the rooms where Gloria taught her dance and yoga classes, and the hallway to the right of the desk had several other rooms that were used for massages, acupuncture and Gloria's main office.

"Gloria won't be out for a few more minutes," Galina told her daughter as she looked at her watch.

"That's okay," Nicky shrugged. They walked up toward the desk and Reina smiled at them kindly.

"Sorry," she whispered, moving the phone away from her ear. "Give me just a second."

"You're fine, honey," Galina reassured her. She reached her hand out, gently touching Bella's knee.

The little girl had been sitting on the counter next to her mother, eating goldfish and drinking a box of apple juice. She was playing a color game on a pink iPad, absorbed happily in her own world. At the feel of a touch on her knee, Bella lifted her head and smiled instantly at the sight of Galina.

"Hi," Galina said as she waved at the little girl. "What are you eating?" she signed slowly. She'd picked up a little sign language from watching Gloria and had been getting a little more comfortable with speaking to Bella, but she still felt anxious about doing so.

Bella pulled out a goldfish, showed it to her and then quickly stuck it in her mouth. She then clamped a tight hand around her bag and crossed her legs so that Galina wouldn't be able to take any of her crackers.

"She is not sharing with you," Nicky observed, with a laugh.

Hanging up the phone, Reina smiled and apologized as she stacked the paperwork she'd been working on into a neat pile. "It's been a long night," she explained with a yawn.

"Tell me about it," Galina agreed. "Reina, this is my daughter Nicky," she introduced the girls. "Nicky this Gloria's oldest daughter and Bella's mom, Reina."

"Oh, the famous Nicky," Reina grinned at her, signing her words and giving Bella the opportunity to feel involved in the conversation. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Nicky nodded. 

"I had so much fun with your mom the other night, I hope we can go out again soon and that you and Lida can join us this time."

Nicky smiled, "I'd like that. We were just talking about having a party for Mother's Day and renting out a pavillion at the park, so you should come."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Reina said as she continued to sign. "Other then church, I don't think we have plans." 

"It would be in the afternoon," Nicky said. "I'm graduating from college that morning."

"Oh, congratulations!" Reina exclaimed.

Galina smiled as she listened to the girls fall easily into conversation. Nicky was such a people's person, and it was no wonder that she thrived in her field. She was good at reading people and was able to converse with just about anybody she met. She'd been that way since she was a little girl, which had always made running errands with her an adventure.

"Bella," Reina said as she tapped on her daughter's shoulder. "Go find Nonna," she signed to her quickly. "Take Galina with you."

Bella sighed and pursed her lips together. She reached into her bag for a handful of goldfish and then handed the rest to her mother, before using her free hand to communicate.

"No one is going to eat your crackers," Reina reassured her as she rolled up the bag of goldfish. She switched her daughter's iPad off and then collected her into her arms so that she could set her down on her feet. "Go," she instructed her.

Galina shook her head in amusement as Bella walked around the desk, dramatically stomping her feet. She held her hand out for Galina, looking positively annoyed about the fact that she had to escort her through the building. They walked down the long hallway and reaching a darkened room, Bella pointed at the door. Galina could hear the music but knew that the class would be winding down any minute.

The tiny tot pulled her hand from Galina's and reached up on her tiptoes to try and touch the door handle. She was just a little too short and could just barely graze the handle with the tips of her fingers, but that didn't stop her from trying, or from screeching loudly when Galina didn't move to immediately help her. Not wanting Reina to think that she was hurting her child, Galina quickly opened the door so that Bella would stop.

Bella ran into the room and around the outside of class that her grandmother had just finished teaching. Some of the women were sitting on the floor, trying to catch their breath, and others were already starting to collect their gym bags.

"There's my baby!" Gloria exclaimed, her voice echoing over the speakers through a headset that she'd been wearing. She spun Bella in her arms before tipping her back and showering her face in kisses. She didn't notice Galina standing there at first, but when she'd put Bella back on her feet and took off her headset, she smiled at her. "You're late," she joked, "You're going to have to catch my class tomorrow morning.

Galina smiled back, making her way toward her across the hardwood floor. "Well, I was hoping I could sway you into having breakfast with me," she told her.

"Is that what you came all the way down here for?" Gloria asked curiously. She popped the lid open on her water bottle and took a large drink. She heard one of her customers call out to her, gesturing that she was going to walk Bella back out to her mother, and she lifted her hand to wave goodbye, watching as the room cleared completely.

"Well," Galina shrugged. "I came to make sure that you were okay," she whispered truthfully. "I could tell that I upset you earlier and I just wanted to apologize. I would never want to hurt you, Gloria."

Gloria used the bottom of her shirt to wipe the sweat off her face. "Oh, babe, I know that," she reassured her, sounding every bit of her normal self. She took another swig from her bottle. "I wasn't upset with you. I just needed to cry it out. I'm fine though, and I feel a lot better after working out. It is what it is, so," she shrugged. "What can you do?"

Galina couldn't help but look at Gloria in awe, and she was sure that she looked similar to the emoji who had hearts in its eyes. Even covered and smelling of sweat, Galina would swear that Gloria was the most perfect person that she had ever met, land how anyone could think otherwise was simply beyond her.

"Oh, by the way, Benny wasn't-"

"Go out with me-" Galina interrupted her.

"What?" Gloria questioned, her eyes widening in surprise.

"On a date," Galina elaborated, a surge of confidence coursing through her system. "I want to take you out on a date."

"A date?" Gloria echoed her, a smile tugging on the corner of her lips. "Really? I thought you didn't like women that way."

"I like you," Galina told her softly, taking a step toward her. They were standing just inches apart and she could feel the heat that was radiating from Gloria's body and could hear her breathing a little heavier than normal and wasn't sure if it was because she was still coming down from the thrill of her workout, or because she was nervous. "I really like you."

"I really like you, too," Gloria whispered, straightening up so that she was her full height. She dropped her gaze to Galina's mouth and then looked back into her eyes where she could see the curiosity swirling around. She felt her own longing intensify and before she was able to give much thought to her action, she began to lean forward, Galina's warm breath fanning over her skin.

Before they knew it, they were kissing sweetly, warmth spreading quickly through both of them. Moaning softly in the back of her throat, Galina felt as if she were going to drown in the energy and adoration that she could feel being radiated through their kiss and she moved her hands to cup Gloria's face, needing tangible proof that this wasn't just a dream. Slowly, they pulled apart, and Galina was sure that she could see stars.

"You're a good kisser," she whispered, resting her forehead against Gloria's.

Gloria smirked and circled her arms greedily around Galina's waist, before brushing her lips against her mouth once again. "How lucky for you," she whispered.


	10. Chapter 10

-10-

"First Date Ideas," Galina typed into the search engine of her computer. Hundreds of websites and articles instantly appeared, and she pursed her lips together in thought as she scrolled her finger over the mouse to find a link that looked appealing. Since she was the one who had asked Gloria out, it was up to her to plan their evening, and she didn't have a clue on what she wanted to do.

They'd been friends for nearly three months and had spent almost every day together since meeting. She thought that she knew Gloria well enough to plan something that she'd sincerely enjoy but felt as if she were constantly coming up blank. She thought about suggesting they go out to dinner and a movie, but they'd done that so many times already that it just didn't feel special enough for their first date. Continuing down the list of Fifty First-Date Ideas, Galina hoovered her mouse over number thirteen–– Prepare a Romantic Dinner at Home.

Simple, she thought. And perfect.

Why she hadn't thought of that herself, she didn't have a clue. Gloria had expressed to her on several different occasions that she preferred a home-cooked meal to going out to eat, and Galina knew firsthand that she was an excellent cook. The tortilla soup that Gloria had made her a couple of weeks ago when she had been under the weather, had been incredibly delicious and even Dmitri had helped himself to a bowl after he'd finished rummaging around in the basement.

Thinking back on that day made her want to roll her eyes. It had been such a nice feeling to indulge in the domestic-bliss she'd felt sitting next to Gloria on the sofa, but Dmitri showing up uninvited and unannounced had tilted the afternoon on its axis, and she'd never been able to get back to that relaxed state of being, even after he had left.

Pulling out the small notebook that she kept in her purse, Galina began to write out the grocery list that she'd need in order to pull off tonight's dinner. She thought a chicken stir fry would be an easy and fun meal to make together, as they'd be able to drink a glass of wine, cut up the vegetables, and talk about their day.

The simplicity of it all made her feel giddy with joy. She loved spending time with Gloria in any capacity that she could, and they didn't even have to be do anything stimulating in nature. The last couple of nights she'd caught herself going to Gloria's gym after closing up her store to sit with her as she finished up last minute things in her office and Gloria had even made it a priority to return the sentiment.

Every day during her lunch break, she would walk to Galina's shop to eat lunch. Most of the time Galina was too busy to sit down and eat with her, let alone have a conversation with her, but Gloria never seemed to mind as she made herself comfortable at a table near the window, eating whatever she'd packed for herself the night before and listening to a podcast on her phone.

She didn't know how else to describe the dynamic of their relationship, other than to say it was comforting. She knew some people wouldn't like to have someone feel so velcroed to them, but she didn't feel harassed or suffocated in the least. It was a nice change to go from feeling alone to feeling like she had a companion who was all her own.

Except that Gloria wasn't hers to keep. She still had such a busy household to run with her teenage sons and helping Reina with the baby, that Galina knew there would be times she'd have to take a back seat, but that didn't bother her. If anything, Gloria's dedication to her family was what she adored most about her.

She loved hearing the stories that Gloria shared with her concerning the kids. Julio would be graduating high school at the end of the month and had recently dropped a bombshell on his mother that he was considering to join the Marines instead of his original plans to go to college. As much as Gloria had wanted to resist the idea altogether, she'd agreed to go with him and speak to a recruiter, and Galina was very much looking forward to hearing how that went when she saw her tonight.

Gloria had expressed her fears, and Galina was very sympathetic to the way she was feeling. She couldn't imagine how hard it would be to her son come home, at only eighteen-years-old, and declare that they wanted to join the armed forces. She'd seen the political climate in America during and after the Vietnam war, and again when 9/11 happened. She knew how terrifying and very real the prospects were of Julio being deployed into unspeakable danger, and it made something in her gut twist in agony.

The U.S Marines were the first ones to go in at a time of crisis, and as a mother, she just couldn't imagine anything more terrifying than sending a son off to fight in foreign lands, wondering in the back of your mind if they'd ever return home.

The only thing that seemed to balance out the seriousness of what Gloria was going through with Julio, was that her youngest child, Benny, still had two more years until he graduated high school. Benny chose to spend his time annoying his mother in any capacity that he could manage. Her son working so effortlessly to keep her in a near-constant state of shock was one of the main reasons that Gloria often declared Bella as her favorite.

Unlike her mouthy, sarcastic daughters, or her troublesome sons, Bella was a sassy tot who allowed her grandmother to dress her up in bows three-sizes bigger than her head, and tutus that were as big and fluffy as cotton candy. She was deaf and spoke dramatically with her hands. She'd clap them together when she signed to express how frustrated she was, and when she wasn't interested in hearing what you had to say, she'd turn her head and squeeze her eyes shut, so that you'd understand just how much she didn't care.

And as delicious as Galina found Bella to be, and while she knew that Gloria adored that baby more than anything in the world, something in her stomach told her that it was Benny who was Gloria's true favorite. You didn't love any child the way you loved your baby and the relationship that the mother and son shared reminded her so much of the relationship she shared with Nicky. There was something in her soul, that had been present from the moment Nicky had been placed in her arms, that told her she'd known Nicky in a past life, and she got the impression that Gloria felt much the same about her son.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Gloria had called her the other night and told her that Benny had started to date a girl from his chemistry class, failing miserably in pretending that she was okay with it, and not at all jealous. It had amused her greatly but had also made Galina feel a lot better to know she wasn't the only mother in the world who'd taken it hard when her sons had started dating. She'd reassured Gloria that there was nothing inappropriate about enjoying the time that she'd been the most important woman in her sons' lives.

Putting the cap on the pen that she'd been writing with, Galina then tore out the page that she made her list on. Her phone vibrated on her desk, and she turned it over to see a message from Lida, asking to confirm her hair appointment for that afternoon.

For years, she'd kept up a steady routine of getting her hair done once or twice a month but had been slacking off on her appointments for a while. However, she wanted to look nice for Gloria tonight and had even gone out with Nicky the other day to pick out a new outfit and a pair of shoes. It was nothing too fancy, but the idea of getting dolled up just made the whole event feel that much more real and exciting.

"Yes," she typed back to Lida quickly, "I'm going to the bank and then I'm heading your way." She had just exited out of the internet screen on her computer when her phone began to ring.

"Lida?" she answered, without even looking at the caller I.D.

"Um, no. It's Anna."

"Anna?" she frowned. She pulled the phone away from her ear and sure enough, Anna Reznikov was highlighted across her screen. "I'm sorry darling, Lida had just sent me a message so I assumed that it was her. How are you?"

"I'm alright," Anna sounded exhausted. "I got a missed call from you a couple of days ago. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to call you back, but I just haven't been able to catch a break."

"That's okay," Galina reassured her, "I know you've been busy with work and the kids. How are they?"

"They're doing good. They're ready for summer to get here and so am I. I want to send them to this summer camp a couple of hours from here, so I've been working overtime to pay for that."

"What camp?" Galina asked curiously, hitting the internet icon on her computer.

"I think it's called something like Pine Cove. I have the brochure in the house, but I'm sitting out in my car right now. It seems really nice and like something they'd enjoy. It says they'd do a lot of things like hiking, canoeing, and ziplining."

Galina typed the camp name into the search engine, and sure enough, it was the first link that appeared. She clicked on the site and quickly skimmed over the pictures and descriptions of what the camp advertised.

"It looks great," she told Anna. "I just pulled it up on my computer, but I agree. I think they'd have a lot of fun." She clicked over to the registration tab and her eyes widened slightly in amazement at the price. It was $120 per child, which seemed fair when you thought about all the amenities that it included: room and board, activities, and meals, but it was still a good chunk of change for a family that was wanting to send more than one child and had other bills and such to pay.

"We'll see. Maybe I can find something less expensive, and do more with them. I just don't want them at home the whole summer staring at the television."

"I understand. I always wanted my kids to stay busy in the summer as well," Galina agreed. Her mouse hovered over the link on the registration page and she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in thought. "If you're okay with it, Anna... Maybe I could pay for their summer camp?" she offered.

There was a pause over the line and Galina could hear the rustling of bags. She wasn't sure if it was a coincidence and Anna was getting something out of the car, or if she was biding her time to politely tell her no.

"Well, I'm not going to fight you," Anna said finally. "If you want to pay it I'm going to let you. I asked Yuri if he'd help me, but he never gave me an answer and the deadline is the first of June. You see how expensive it is, though, don't you? I don't want to take any money from you, Galina."

"You're not taking from me if I offer," Galina told her gently.

She began to fill out the application for registration, putting in her granddaughter's information first before moving on and putting in her grandsons. She hadn't missed the dig that Anna had taken at Yuri, and she used this act of grace to her advantage, deciding to get to the point of why she'd wanted to talk to Anna in the first place.

"So," she said, pulling out her debit card from her wallet. "I did actually have a reason for calling you, Anna. I don't know if Yuri has told you, but Nicky is graduating from college next weekend and we're going to be having a little celebration for her, and for mother's day at the park near my house. I know you'd probably want to visit your own mother, but you're more than welcome to invite your family to the party, and we can celebrate together, or if want drop by for a little while so that I can see the kids, I would really appreciate that."

Anna sighed, and when she spoke she sounded frustrated. "No, Yuri didn't tell me. I saw that Nicky posted something about graduating on facebook, but I didn't know you'd be having a party for her, or for mother's day. I have plans in the morning with my mom, but I'm sure we could stop by in the afternoon."

"Well I'm sure Yuri's just been busy with work," Galina said gently. "I'm sure he would have told you about the party."

"No, he wouldn't have," Anna laughed bitterly. "He would have told me about it the morning of and then got mad that I had plans. I know how he is, Galina, but quite frankly I really don't care. I only hear from him when he needs something."

"Needs something?" Galina questioned, her brows furrowed in confusion as she hit the continue button on the bottom of the page. "You two live together, don't-"

"We're separated," Anna told her seriously. "I moved out a couple of weeks ago with the kids. We're staying in my parent's guest house until I can get back on my feet. It's another reason why I don't want the kids around much this summer because I'm sure he's going to fight this divorce with everything he has."

"Divorce? You're going to file for divorce?"

"I know this may come as a surprise to you, Galina, but our marriage has been in trouble for years and I've done everything I can to keep it from going up in flames, but I am tired of fighting for something that he doesn't want."

"Anna, I'm sure that isn't true. Yuri loves you very much."

"Sometimes love just isn't enough," Anna said quietly. "Look, Galina, Yuri is a private person, and if you didn't know, then he probably hasn't told anyone else yet. I promised him that I wouldn't keep the kids from him, but he's hardly made an effort to see them or even speak to them. I don't want to keep the kids from anyone, but I'm sure I'll be the one who is painted as the bad guy."

"I don't want that," Galina told her gently. "I really don't, and I don't know what's going on. Yuri hasn't shared anything with me. I know that I need to make more of an effort for the kids, and I want to."

"There's just so much happening," Anna told her. "I don't want you to think that I just gave up on my marriage, because I didn't. There was a lot happening behind the scenes that is between Yuri and me, but I know that when this comes out no one is going to want to hear my side of things. You're family and you stick together. I respect that, but we have two children together, Galina. I have your grandchild, and until the last couple of days when you've called, I haven't heard from you or anyone since Christmas. Yuri, of all people, isn't even fighting for his kids. I don't want to keep them from anybody, but I will not go out of my way to bring them around a family that doesn't want them."

"I want them," Galina told her passionately. She raked a hand through the top of her hair in frustration. "I can't speak for Yuri and his actions, but I was always told you didn't want the kids around us. I do want to be apart of their life, Anna, and if he isn't stepping up I want you to call me. Do you understand?" She asked her. "If you or they ever need anything, I want you to call me and I will make sure that you get it."

"Maybe we can grab coffee sometime soon and talk," Anna suggested. "I've got a few more errands to run today before I have to pick the kids up from school, but I'll be in touch."

Galina nodded her head. "Of course," she whispered.

"And Galina," Anna said gently. "Thank you for paying for their camp. I'll make sure they call you tonight to say thank you."

"No problem," Galina smiled sadly. "I'll print off the confirmation and give it to you next weekend."

"Thank you."

Making sure the phone call was disconnected, Galina shook her head as she stood up from the desk, cursing under her breath as grabbed her purse. She roughly turned the lights off in her office as she walked out, feeling her skin start to heat and burn with rage. She had suspected things were bad, but she'd had no clue that they were this bad. Every thought she harbored toward her son, and all the ways that she'd defended him over the years made her feel almost nauseated.

What kind of father didn't fight for their children? She'd certainly raised him to be a better man than that, and she had half a mind to call Dmitri and yell at him. For what, she didn't know, but she suspected it would make her feel a lot better to yell at someone.

She turned off the lights and put in the code for the security system. With no help to mind the store, she'd decided to close at noon so that she could have time to get her errands done without rushing. She needed to make time to have a family meeting with her children and get their input on the future of the store. She was getting older and it wasn't a direct matter of not being able to handle it on her own, but she just wasn't sure if she wanted to.

Not that Yuri will be much help, she thought. She exhaled a long breath and rubbed tiredly at her eyes. She wasn't ready to retire, but she didn't want to spend her whole days working from open to close anymore either. She wanted something similar to Gloria's schedule, where she could go in only if she wanted to, with the choice to stay or leave anytime that she'd like, but she couldn't do that if she was the only one working.

She'd considered bringing in extra help, but she'd built the business with her family and wasn't sure how she'd feel about someone else working in her place. For the longest time, she'd debated about opening a second location, and had always put it off for the mere fact that she wouldn't have been able to give both businesses her full attention.

Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket and she pulled it out see a message from Gloria. It was a picture of her with her eyes crossed and looking positively bored, the caption reading, "Military's protocol is to hurry up and wait. So over it."

Despite how agitated the call with Anna had left her, the picture of Gloria brought an immediate smile to her face. "But you look very cute," she typed back as she began to walk down the street where she knew she'd be more likely to find a cab. "A little demonic, but still cute."

"I try. I'm excited to see you tonight. Did you come up with a plan?"

"Yes. I was thinking we could cook dinner together, make dessert, and maybe watch a movie. What do you think?"

"Sounds good, and I'm actually glad we're staying in. Are you dressing up?"

"I was thinking about it, but now I think we should just stay in our pajamas and drink a whole bottle of wine."

"I could be down with that," Gloria replied with a wink.

"I'm starting to think you don't own anything that's not leggings and workout clothes," Galina mouthed the words as she typed them. She hit send and then began to type out a second message. "Do you want to go grocery shopping with me?"

"You're speaking my love language! You know I love running errands with you."

"How much longer do you think you'll be? I have a couple of errands to run, but I think we should start date night early. You won't believe who just called me."

"DIL?" Gloria guessed.

"How did you know?"

"Because I'm magic," Gloria replied. "Text me when you're done with your errands and I'll head your way."

"I'm so excited!"

"Of course, you are, you're spending the evening with me."

Galina giggled as she read her message. The winking-seductive emoji and purple heart that Gloria had added to the end of the text made her stomach summersault with excitement. Tonight was going to be an amazing night. She could feel it in her bones.


End file.
